Federal Judge Blocks Florida’s Social Media Law for Children

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Florida’s new law that bans some children from using social media and requires parental consent for others, according to court documents. Judge Mark Walker ruled in favor of two tech organizations (NetChoice and the CCIA) representing social media organizations such as Meta, Snap, and X, stating that the state’s bill HB3, signed into law in March this year, is “likely unconstitutional.”

Details of the Law

The law mandates that parental or guardian consent is required for 14- and 15-year-olds to create an account or use a pre-existing account on a social media platform, while children under 14 are banned from using these platforms altogether. Social media companies must comply with requests to delete these accounts within five business days, and each violation could incur a fine of $10,000. If it is determined that a company knowingly or recklessly violated the law, the fine could escalate to $50,000 per instance.

Reactions to the Ruling

“Floridians have the right to access lawful speech without the government controlling what they say, share, or see online,” said NetChoice Director of Litigation, Chris Marchese.

Legal Arguments

The state of Florida attempted to circumvent standard First Amendment free speech protections by implementing the “narrowly tailored” rules, claiming that the law is intended to protect children from five addictive features of social media: push notifications, auto-play videos, live streaming, infinite scrolling, and personal metrics. However, Judge Walker ruled that the application of the law is overly broad, echoing concerns previously raised by the Supreme Court.

Implications of the Ruling

Judge Walker noted, “As applied to Plaintiffs’ members alone, the law likely bans all youth under 14 from holding accounts on, at a minimum, four websites that provide forums for all manner of protected speech: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. It also bans 14- and 15-year-olds from holding accounts on those four websites absent a parent’s affirmative consent, a requirement that the Supreme Court has clearly explained the First Amendment does not countenance.”

Furthermore, children could be prohibited from accessing social media even if the platforms created youth accounts without any of the five addictive features, as long as those features were available for adult users. The judge criticized the law’s specific stipulations regarding a child’s access to a platform based on the overall time children spend on the app.

Remaining Provisions

Despite the ruling, one provision of the law remains intact. Social media companies are still required to “terminate any account held by a youth under 16 in the state upon the request of a parent or guardian,” as stipulated by the bill.

Conclusion

Yahoo, the parent company of Engadget, is a member of NetChoice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/floridas-social-media-law-has-been-temporarily-blocked-by-a-federal-judge-123004847.html?src=rss