Tallahassee, FL — On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis put pen-to-paper on HB-3, a measure meant to protect kids from the dangers of social media.
The new law prohibits children under the age of 14 from becoming social media account holders and allows 14- and 15-year-olds to become account holders with parental consent. The law does not target specific social media sites, and it protects the ability of Floridians to remain anonymous online.
HB-3 also requires pornographic or sexually explicit websites to use age verification in an effort to prevent minors from accessing those sites.
“Social media harms children in a variety of ways,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “HB-3 gives parents a greater ability to protect their children. Thank you to Speaker Renner for delivering this landmark legislation.”
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One of the law’s co-sponsors, Florida Speaker of the Houser, Paul Renner, said the new bill has addressed the addictive features that allows children to stay on social media platforms for hours.
“The internet has become a dark alley for our children where predators target them and dangerous social media leads to higher rates of depression, self-harm, and even suicide,” said House Speaker Paul Renner.
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The law goes into effect on January 1st, 2025.