Social Media

Florida’s Republican-led Senate passed a sweeping bill Thursday in Tallahassee that would ban all kids under 16 from using social media – even with a parent’s permission – and would require everyone else in the Sunshine State to prove they are adults to continue using their online accounts.Within hours, Gov. Ron DeSantis resurfaced his own objections over banning high school students who are 14 or 15 and whose parents might want to give their children access. “Parents need to have a role in this,” he said at a news conference. He added, “We can’t say 100% of the uses are bad.”

Young entrepreneurs and activists are worried about a Florida proposal to ban social media for all minors under 16 — even with consent of their parents. The bill passed the House last month and was expected to clear the Senate on Wednesday. Last week, a Senate panel passed the bill 12-5 with only one Democrat, Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Tamarac, voting in favor of it.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office removed the ability to comment on some social media posts last year, something that's well within their right to do, but prompting some to wonder why.Instagram comments ceased on July 28 of last year, but it’s unknown when the same occurred on Facebook. Law enforcement and citizen perspectives varied on the lack of comment availability on the Sheriff's Office's social media sites.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday raised legal concerns about the “breadth” of a bill that seeks to prevent children under age 16 from having social-media accounts. The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed the bill (HB 1), a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.

A proposal that would prohibit minors younger than 16 from creating social-media accounts is poised to pass in the Florida House, after a change Tuesday that its sponsor said helps target platforms’ addictive features. The bill (HB 1) is a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, who has decried what he and other bill supporters say are detrimental effects of social media on children’s mental health.

A message that was distributed via social media and claiming Lee County schools were closed due to inclement weather was a fake notice and district officials said the majority of students were in class Tuesday morning.

A bill that would require people to verify their age before accessing online content that would be “harmful to minors” began advancing in the Florida House on Thursday, as Speaker Paul Renner has made the proposal a legislative priority. The bill (HB 3) would require any company that “knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on a website or application” to use “reasonable age verification methods” to prove that people accessing the site are at least 18 years old.

In a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, House and Senate Republicans have filed bills designed to prevent minors under age 16 from having social-media accounts.The House version of the bill (HB 1), filed by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, was released Friday night, while the Senate version (SB 1788) was filed Monday by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach. They came as the 2024 legislative session prepares to start Tuesday.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will take up a First Amendment fight about a 2021 Florida law that placed restrictions on major social-media companies.The Supreme Court said it will hear cases involving the Florida law and a similar measure in Texas. Both sides in the Florida case, along with the U.S. solicitor general, had urged justices to take up the issues.