TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Senate approved a new revised bill that would restrict minors from social media platforms.
HB 3 passed Monday with a vote of 30 to 5, days after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a different bill banning minors from social media if they were under the age of 16.
The current version of HB 3 prohibits social media platforms from allowing anyone younger than 14 from holding a social media account.
If passed, any social media platform would be required to delete any account by a minor of that age group. However, an account holder would have 90 days to dispute termination if they have legitimate grounds.
If the account holder asks to remove their account, the platform has five business days to terminate the account. If the parent or guardian makes the request, then the social media company has 10 business day to terminate.
All personal data affiliated with these accounts will also be deleted unless there are legal requirements for keeping it.
However, if the minor is 14 or 15 years old, a social media platform will also be required to remove the account by the wishes of the parent or guardian. In these cases, the same rules for those under 14 would apply.
If a platform commits a reckless or knowing violation of these policies, they may suffer a civil penalty of $50,000 per violation as well as paying for attorney fees and court costs. In the case where a company shows a consistent pattern of violations, punitive damages may also be established.
For platforms that have explicit material that exceeds 33.3% of its total published content, they must also have independent age verification to prevent minors from accessing it.
The revised bill now heads to the House for approval. If passed and signed, it would go into effect by July 1.
