DeSantis Vetoes Social Media Ban for Minors, Says ‘Superior Bill’ Is on Way

At the time a Republican presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to his supporters after finding out the 2024 Iowa caucuses results at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

An attempt made by Republican lawmakers in Florida to ban children under age 16 from social media was vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. DeSantis, a Republican, said on March 1 he vetoed HB-1, Online Protection for Minors, because of concerns regarding parental rights and First Amendment rights and the anticipation of a better bill.

“I have vetoed HB 1 because the Legislature is about to produce a different, superior bill,” he said on the social media platform X.

“Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents’ rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech.

“I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon.”

HB-1 would have required social media companies to terminate all preexisting accounts of children under the age of 16, prohibit them from retaining and selling the minors’ personal information and data, and require those that publish and distribute “material harmful to minors” to verify age and report “unauthorized or unlawful access.”

Social media companies not in compliance would have been subject to prosecution by parents and the attorney general under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The bill was approved in the House of Representatives 108–7, and before it passed 23–14 in the state Senate, there was debate about how parental rights figured into the issue, specifically concerning minors who monetized their accounts with the help of their parents and those who use data-collecting platforms focused for children such as YouTube Kids.

Another Internet Bill

The governor’s office declined to comment further to The Epoch Times on the veto. His office did not clarify which bill was the “superior” legislation.

However, a comparable bill, CS/CS/HB 3, “Online Access to Materials Harmful to Minors,” is currently making its way through the Senate, scheduled for a reading on March 4, and has a chance to reach the governor’s desk before the legislative session ends on March 8. It passed the House of Representatives with a single unanimous vote.

Unlike its predecessor, this bill does not demand that social media entities take responsibility for identifying and terminating any accounts made by kids younger than 16, regardless of the parent’s opinion about the account’s existence, nor does it prohibit those minors from being able to create new accounts.

In fact, it does not even specifically refer to social media companies or try to define them as HB-1 did. It specifically targets companies that intentionally publish and distribute content of which more than a third is harmful to minors.

It also raises the age of concern from 16 to 18 and specifically exempts news-gathering organizations, internet service providers, search engines, and cloud service providers from fault as long as they are only providing the necessary connections and are not the creators of the materials being accessed.

But it still would require companies that publish and distribute a substantial amount of “material harmful to minors” on their websites or applications to make that content inaccessible to minors, perform “reasonable age verification methods,” and report on unauthorized or unlawful access.

It also still establishes prohibitions on retaining certain personal identifying information and authorizes legal action against companies under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

If passed, CS/CS/HB 3 would go into effect on July 1, 2024.