Florida is Next in Line with Social Media Ban for Minors–But Teens Need a Social Space

Story by Maestro Joyner. Photo courtesy of Will Brown via WJCT Public Media.

On March 25th, 2024, Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed House BiIl 3: Online Protections for Minors into law. This bill requires social media platforms to ban minors under the age of 14 from being on, or creating an account on those platforms, while minors aged 14 or 15 would need parental consent to participate. 

Social media platforms will also need to purge existing accounts where users are under 14 years old in 90 days, or face fines up to $50,000 for each violation. In addition, they could be sued by the parents of children who are still able to create accounts. Adults will have to upload their government ID to verify that they are 18 or older, as the law blocks minors from materials that are “harmful to minors.”  

As of January 1, 2025, the legislation takes effect, but despite that, the state won’t legally enforce it until February, as a preliminary injunction hearing is to be held on February 28th by Chief U.S District Judge Mark Walker. 

Two lawsuits from tech groups argue that the law infringes on the First Amendment. Also, the Adult Entertainment Free Speech Coalition claims that age verification hurts adults and minors and keeps young people from safe sex education materials online. 

As of today there are 12 states—Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Utah, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Arkansas, Ohio and California—that have progressed with some type of restrictions on social media, while four—Florida, Arkansas, Ohio, and California—are blocked by Court injunctions. 

This current trend of America leaning towards more restrictive thinking about teenagers on social media raises concerns for many social media users, families, and companies who think that the government stepping in to replace parents when protecting children is the wrong move.

Many parents who were rebellious as teenagers, know that teens are clever and can find ways to breach the many restrictions applied to them not just online, but in real life as well. There’s been countless incidents where teens have made false IDs to get into adult spaces, used a VPN to bypass restricted content, or been exposed to adult content by peers. So instead of solely blaming social media, I'd like to redirect the conversation to focus on the absence of teen places online and in real life. 

Since major spots where teens would gather like malls, skateparks, libraries, arcades, and parks are either unsafe because of the heightened fear of gun violence, or now inaccessible due to strict rules implemented by government officials, teens are naturally disbanding and flocking to social media for a sense of connection with other people their age.

Instead of the government banning teens on social media, there could be steps taken to ensure that teens also have a place where they can interact with each other that belongs to them so they don’t feel the need to invade adult spaces for social interactions.

Maestro Joyner is a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.