A smattering of new state laws will arrive with the new year, but the highest-profile change — restricting access to social media for children — will not be immediately enforced.
Ten laws passed during the 2024 legislative session will take effect Wednesday. They were among 299 bills approved by the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis, the majority of which took effect July 1.
The social-media restrictions were part of a bill (HB 3) that was a priority of then-House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, and became one of the biggest issues of the session.
The measure seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on some platforms. Parents can give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts, but children under 14 would be barred from opening accounts.
Renner argued that social-media companies have created addictive platforms that harm children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors.
In October, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, whose members include tech giants such as Google and Meta Platforms, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the restrictions.
“In a nation that values the First Amendment, the preferred response is to let parents decide what speech and mediums their minor children may access — including by utilizing the many available tools to monitor their activities on the internet,” the lawsuit said.
The groups are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the restrictions, and Attorney General Ashley Moody agreed in November to delay enforcement until Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Wilson rules on the injunction request. Walker has scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing.
“In order to obtain a full record and obtain discovery, Florida agreed to stay enforcement of its statute until the court rules on the motion for preliminary injunction,” Chase Sizemore, press secretary for Moody’s office, said in a statement in November.
The bill did not name social-media platforms that would be affected. But it included a definition of such platforms, with criteria related to such things as algorithms, “addictive features” and allowing users to view the content or activities of other users.
The lawsuit repeatedly referred to sites such as YouTube and Facebook --- while also saying the restrictions would not apply to services such as Disney+. If social-media companies violate the restrictions they could face penalties up to $50,000 per violation. The measure also would open them to lawsuits filed on behalf of minors.
Moody, however, wants to move forward immediately with another part of HB 3 that requires age verification for access to websites with adult content. The Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment industry group, and other plaintiffs filed suit Dec. 16 challenging that part of the measure on First Amendment and other constitutional grounds.
Supporters say the age-verification requirements are designed to keep minors from viewing pornography online.
Pornhub isn’t waiting for Walker to rule on the age-verification requirements, saying the adult site will be unavailable to Florida users starting Wednesday.
“Did you know that your government wants you to give your driver’s license before you can access Pornhub?” users of the site are advised when they log on. “As crazy as it sounds, it’s true. You’ll be required to prove you are 18 years or older such as by uploading your government ID for every adult content website you’d like to access. We don’t want minors accessing our site and think preventing that from happening is a good thing. But putting everybody’s privacy at risk won’t achieve that.”
Among other laws taking effect Wednesday will be a measure (SB 184) aimed at preventing people from harassing or threatening first responders. The bill makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to get within 25 feet of a first responder after receiving a verbal warning not to approach.
Supporters touted the bill as a way to help police officers and other first responders.
“While blue states vilify and defund the police, Florida will continue to be the friendliest state in the nation towards our law enforcement community,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an April statement as he signed the legislation.
But in March, The Rutherford Institute, a civil-liberties organization, warned the “no go zone” was unnecessary and could give police broad discretion to abuse the law.
“Riddled with vague terms and lacking explicit safeguards for protected First Amendment activities such as simply observing or recording the first responder’s actions, SB 184 not only stands to chill free speech activities but could also encourage government officials to undermine the very rights they are sworn to uphold and protect,” John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, wrote in a March 28 letter to DeSantis.
Also taking effect Wednesday will be a law (HB 135) that includes preventing changes to people’s political-party affiliations without their written consent and a law (HB 267) that requires the Florida Building Commission to change parts of the state building code related to replacement windows, doors and garage doors.