TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The social media ban for minors under the age of 16 has cleared the Florida Legislature again, and is headed back to the desk of Governor DeSantis.
The Florida House passed HB 3 by a vote of 109 to 4 during session on Wednesday.
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Changes were made HB 3 during negotiations with the Governor over the last week.
Critics had argued that the original bill was unconstitutional and contend the revamped bill will also not pass legal muster.
The bill is considered a compliment to HB 1, that would have restricted teenagers under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts and provide options for termination of their existing accounts. It was
The bill, which is titled Online Access to Materials Harmful to Minors, was rewritten.
It limits online access to material deemed harmful to minors and requires commercial entities that publish or distribute materials to perform age verifications to prevent access.
This would likely include X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
“We felt strongly that we had better than a puncher’s chance to go into court with the last bill. We feel our changes are very, very good with this bill and we’ve hit the right mark,” said Rep. Paul Renner, (R) FL House Speaker.
If DeSantis signs the revamped bill into law, and it would go into effect on July 1.