House Bill 1received its final nod from a House Judiciary committee Wednesday, as lawmakers approved the measure 17-5. The bill aims to prevent children under the age of 16, from using or creating social media accounts.
It would also call for an almost immediate removal of any existing accounts held by minors, including those owned by young influencers who earn money from their content. The bill is a priority of Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.
“Before social media, those mean kids barely made a dent in our children's mental health," Renner said during a recent press conference. "The rise of social media has hollowed out what should be a childhood full of happiness and big dreams.”
Republican Sarasota Representative Fiona McFarland, is co-sponsoring the bill. She says her legislation will set guidelines for social media companies to follow, while making it safer for kids. But two tech companies disagree.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, criticized the proposal and said in a letter to Judiciary Chairman Tommy Gregory (R-Lakewood Ranch), that the decision to remove kids from social media should be left up to the parent.
"While our company recognizes the goals of House Bill 1, we believe this bill, as currently drafted, not only fails to empower parents to make the decision regarding whether their teen may use a social media platform but also fails to create robust, industry-wide standards that help parents and teens manage their online activity."—Caulder Harvill-Childs, public policy manager for Meta
NetChoice, another tech group, called the legislation ‘unconstitutional’ because they believe verifying a person’s age will require users to share personal identifying information such as a driver license or birth certificate. Gainesville Democratic Representative Yvonne Hayes Hinson echoed that complaint at Wednesday's hearing.
“I think it's a constitutionality problem," Hinson said. "There should be a way for us to have a framework of ages that need to be verified and ages that don't.”
As critics continue to advocate for parents' rights, and argue whether the state can enforce such a measure, the bill will now move to the full house for a final vote.