TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Senate Judiciary Committee gave resounding approval to a proposal banning kids younger than 16 from accessing social media, despite growing concerns the bill isn’t constitutional.
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Republican committee members voted to send the bill forward 7-2 as it speedily makes its way to a vote by the full chamber that’s also controlled by their party.
Opponents of the bill say it tramples on parental rights, limits teens’ free speech and unconstitutionally burdens adults from accessing social media platforms, among other infringements.
Gov. DeSantis even said the language of the bill concerned him during a stop in Kissimmee last month.
Read: Florida lawmakers review bill that could ban anyone under 16 from social media
The bill’s sponsor waved those concerns aside without offering any amendments Monday, and called social media an addiction that needed intervention, just like past votes to restrict alcohol and tobacco sales to minors.
“This is us stepping in and saying this is beyond any one family,” Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce) said. “This is something that the magnitude has reached such a level we have to step in as a government.”
Grall said the features of the website would dictate which platforms fell under her ban, rather than the content, and primarily focused on websites that included addictive features while only vaguely defining what that meant.
Read: Florida House passes bill restricting teens on social media
She clarified that under the “addictiveness” requirement, Snapchat, which appeared to be exempted from the bill because it is a person-to-person messaging platform but is popular among kids and teenagers, would be ensnared by it.
Opponents of the bill pointed out that politicians were zeroing in on social media as a villain even as other forms of entertainment were similarly addictive.
“Gaming, to me, is even more dangerous, because you don’t know who your kids are talking to live in their bedroom,” Lauren Book (D-Broward) said. “I don’t like that we’ve exempted them.”
Read: DeSantis casts further doubt on bill banning kids from social media
Parents and advocates rose largely in opposition to the bill as well, and focused on their parental rights – including the importance of teaching kids social media safety and proper use while under their supervision.
“Only 29% of parents use parental control tools, so that’s just a crazy statistic that there are so many options out there for parents before the government could ever get involved,” one man said.
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