DeSantis vetoes bill that would ban social media for kids in Florida, promotes new bill

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed legislation that would have banned social media for minors younger than 16 and required age verification to access pornographic websites.

But both he and lawmakers promised "a different, superior bill" that he would approve.

DeSantis said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents’ rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech. I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon."

The governor has been negotiating with House Speaker Paul Renner in recent days and lawmakers are already pushing forward another proposal with a big concession to DeSantis’ parental rights concerns. 

During a Friday afternoon press conference, Renner said the bill was a "product of compromise" and "even better" than the vetoed one.

"We have to fix the problem," said Renner, a Palm Coast Republican. Social media companies' "business model is addiction that causes harm to children for profit."

That original measure (HB 1) would have been the strictest social media clampdown in the nation, banning any platform using “addictive features” for all minors younger than 16. 

But an amendment to the replacement bill (HB 3), filed Friday afternoon shortly after DeSantis’ veto announcement, adds a parental permission exception for Floridians who are 14 and 15 years old. 

Lawmakers had tossed that bill aside weeks ago when the now-vetoed social media bill absorbed its provisions, including ones on porn site access. Then, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, announced Friday that her chamber was resurrecting the measure.

Citing worries over the mental health effects social media platforms have on children, lawmakers passed and sent the original legislation to DeSantis last week, despite his publicly-stated parental rights and legal concerns. Similar measures, which have parental rights exceptions, have stalled in other states.

The regulations are a priority of Renner, who had been adamantly against parental permission exceptions, calling them “impractical” and saying the “irreparable harm” caused by social media was too great to ignore. 

The added exception comes with the caveat that, if a court rules against it individually, the rest of the legislation is allowed to stand, potentially paving the way for an all-out ban for those younger than 16 years old.

Renner: Social media is 'poison'

Renner said his own personal view is that social media is "poison" and that he'd like to see it banned for anyone younger than 18.

"But it's a good product of compromise that I think will capture broader public support, which is important, but also importantly, I think, the way we have other parts of the bill structured, it will have a better chance of getting through the courts," he said.

The new proposal "turns that dial up," as the House speaker put it, on civil penalties that run afoul of the new proposal.

It also removes language requiring age verification methods for social media, which had created data privacy and constitutional concerns, though keeps them for accessing pornographic websites.

Renner said it was less necessary, since bulking up the civil penalty possibilities, which can be pursued by both the state and parents, will "incentivize the platforms to do whatever they believe is commercially reasonable without dictating."

The original HB 1 had passed with bipartisan support last week, and its sponsors voiced their support for the new one during the Friday press conference.

"I thought we had a product before, but most certainly here today, we have a product that will survive constitutional scrutiny," said Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, also an attorney. "That will make sure we are setting the tone, not only for the state of Florida but for the rest of the country, on how to protect our children."

But NetChoice, a tech industry trade group currently embroiled in litigation with Florida regarding a previously-passed social media law now under U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny, bashed the modified measure.

"To verify that a minor is under 16 AND that the adult verifying is actually that minor’s parent or guardian, that will in effect require social media companies to verify identities," said Carl Szabo, its vice president and general counsel, in a statement. "Courts across the country have been shooting down these types of laws as unconstitutional."

Moreover, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national free speech organization, called the new language "fatally flawed" in a statement and said it would violate the First Amendment.

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This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.