Florida bans social media accounts for children under 14

Governor Ron DeSantis of the North American state of Florida on Tuesday signed a law that prohibits children under 14 from having accounts on social networks and introduces new restrictions on access to sites with pornographic content.

The Republican signed the document despite criticism from a number of organizations warning of a possible violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

“Social media is harmful to children in many ways,” DeSantis explained in a statement, emphasizing that the law allows 14- and 15-year-olds to have online accounts only with parental consent.

In addition to restricting access to social media for children under 14, HB3 also imposes restrictions such as requiring users to verify their age before accessing sites with pornographic content.

In this sense, it also orders the liquidation of all accounts of minors in companies, which face a fine of up to 50 thousand dollars (46,100 euros) if they do not do so, NBC News reports.

DeSantis vetoed previous text approved by the Florida House of Representatives that would have set the exclusionary age at 16 and required identification for all minors to access networks.

With this measure, Florida joins states like Arkansas and Utah that have already enacted social media bans for minors.

NetChoice, an association that advocates for online freedom of expression, called it “disappointing” that DeSantis signed legislation that could violate the First Amendment regarding access to online resources.

“This level of data collection threatens the privacy of Florida citizens and violates their rights. This concerns the online safety of all Florida citizens and children,” the association said in a statement.