Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed a bill Monday banning minors under the age of 14 from getting on social media.
The legislation, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, requires social media companies to prohibit minors from creating accounts without parental consent and also delete existing accounts for children under the age of 14, according to the text. Florida Republican lawmakers introduced the bill in January and DeSantis said the purpose was to help parents protect their young children from the harms of social media, according to a press release.
“Social media harms children in a variety of ways,” DeSantis said in a statement. “HB 3 gives parents a greater ability to protect their children.”
The new law will also require social media companies, who are not named in the bill, to delete all “personal information” regarding…
