Fla. Panel Backs Banning Social Media for Kids, Regardless of Parental Permission

Southern state lawmakers stressed their concern for kids’ safety as they supported bills Thursday to require age verification for social media and pornography websites. At a Florida House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, Chair Tyler Sirois (R) defended banning children from social platforms even if their parents would allow it. During a South Carolina House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee hearing, the state's attorney general, Alan Wilson (R), strongly supported blocking kids from porn websites.

The Florida panel voted 13-1 on a bipartisan basis to advance HB-1, which would prohibit kids younger than 16 from creating social media accounts and require websites to disclose how they moderate content and consider addiction while designing their services (see 2401080039). The subcommittee later voted unanimously for HB-3, which would require age verification on websites that publish or distribute porn and prohibit access to anyone younger than 18. The low bill numbers, HB-1 and HB-3, indicate they are priorities for House leaders.

The Florida social media bill’s sponsors took a “light-touch” approach, argued Sirois. Not allowing youngsters on social media even if parents would is important, he said. Social media amplifies the destructive way that kids compare themselves with each other, he said. Allowing some children but not others to have social accounts would only add fuel to that fire, he added. The legislature would be "compounding the problem.” Children's Online Privacy Protection Act federal protections for kids younger than 13 aren’t enough, said co-sponsor Rep. FIona McFarland (R): Nor are social platforms’ responses to parents’ concerns, including kids-only platforms and media literacy programs. With HB-1, "we're giving the gift of a blank slate" to children when they turn 16, McFarland added.

One Democrat voted against HB-1 due to the lack of a parental override. The legislature appears to be “speaking out of both sides of our neck,” saying “parental rights are important, but then not allowing ... parents to make the ultimate decision,” said Rep. Ashley Gantt (D). But other Democrats voted aye. “This is a good, good bill,” ranking member Joe Casello (D) said.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association opposed HB-1. CCIA supports “previous legislative efforts aimed at online literacy to educate users about the tools, features, and settings available to protect privacy, tailor online experiences, and avoid scams,” State Policy Director Khara Boender said in a statement. "Florida’s age verification legislation puts younger users’ privacy at risk as companies would need to collect additional personal data on internet users to comply with the law.” Boender raised similar concerns about the South Carolina social media bill that had a hearing Thursday.

"We are here simply to protect children," said HB-3 sponsor Rep. Chase Tramont (R) at the Florida hearing. He said his bill requiring age verification on porn websites says, “Enough.”

S.C. Bills Seen as Priorities

The South Carolina House subcommittee agreed to continue debate at a later meeting on H-4700, which would require parental consent for minors younger than 18 to access social media, and H-3424, meant to keep kids off porn websites. “These are extremely important pieces of legislation” and “what we want to do more than anything is to get it right,” said the panel's Chair Jay Jordan (R). “They are priorities for us because of their importance.”

Despite some lawmakers attacking H-4700 as “governmental control, it’s actually intended to provide for parental consent,” said sponsor Rep. Weston Newton (R). The bill is modeled after a kids’ social media law in Utah, he said. Social media platforms' parental controls aren’t enough, said Newton, adding he expects amendments to ensure the bill's constitutionality, particularly around age verification.

“I don’t want to sue states,” said NetChoice General Counsel Carl Szabo, noting that the tech industry group brought cases against four states with similar laws. “My goal is to get good policy.” Among other constitutional problems, the bill discriminates by including about 20 exemptions, including for news outlets and video games, Szabo said. Better to teach social media literacy in schools, he added.

Meta already has many parental controls, including restricting what content teens can see on Instagram, said Caulder Harvill-Childs, Meta public policy manager-Southeast. If a child originally gave a correct age when signing up, the platform will stop that youngster from changing it later, including by asking for ID, he said. Meta can also verify age based on app store registration, he said. South Carolina lawmakers should “ensure that responsibility for youth safety online is not narrowed to select social media companies,” said Harvill-Childs: And the state should consider principles that align with federal rules.

AG Wilson praised the anti-porn bill. South Carolina needs a "virtual bouncer ... standing at the door of every website to prevent people that are underaged from going in to see the same thing on a website that they would be prohibited from seeing in a brick-and-mortar building." The AG pledged to draft amendments ensuring the bill’s constitutionality and to defend it in court if enacted. Wilson urged legislators to hold content providers liable, not ISPs.

H-3424 sponsor Rep. Travis Moore (R) said he's open to edits: The goal is to keep kids away from online porn without impinging on adults’ constitutional right of access.