Florida’s bill banning young teens from social media is raising constitutional red flags

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s HB 1, typically considered the legislative priority of the year, is sailing through its committee hearings with unusual bipartisan support.

This year, the state’s lawmakers have decided to go after child and teenage social media use. The bill, which can still be amended, bans teens under 16 years old from creating new social media profiles, allows parents to request the deletion of an existing profile, and fines platforms for each time they don’t comply.

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Thus far, it’s gotten rave reviews from both sides of the aisle, despite concerns it limits the rights of parents to make decisions for their own family.

“We have a history of looking at different industries and business practices and putting guardrails in place to protect our kids,” sponsor Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-Brevard) said. “There is no parental waiver that I can sign to bring the child into a casino.”

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However, in a summary analysis, House legislative staff laid out nearly two pages of constitutional concerns, from First Amendment considerations to infringement on federal laws.

One of the key issues was the demand by the bill’s backers to have a more comprehensive age verification system in place than simply allowing users to choose their birthdays, a notoriously flawed process.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has held that requiring adults to prove their age to access certain content is an unconstitutional, content-based limit on free speech, when there are less restrictive means to curb access to minors, such as filters and parental controls,” staff wrote.

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They acknowledged the judiciary might be open to revisiting that position as technology improved,

“Experts argue that age verification systems have progressed considerably from a generation ago,” they said.

Other concerns included contracts clauses and supremacy clauses.

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If passed, it would be the latest in a long line of bills by the Florida Legislature that ignored constitutionality concerns. Some of those bills were intentional efforts to challenge existing precedent, but others appeared to be designed to bolster political campaigns.

Those bills, including the “Stop WOKE Act,” the bill banning children from drag shows, and a previous social media law that targeted content moderation.

Courts have blocked, temporarily or permanently, at least parts of all three. All ultimately costing taxpayers money.

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