Support NeoGAF

[winjer]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill that bans children under 14 from having social media accounts

The bill is expected to face legal challenges.

www.nbcnews.com

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that will prohibit children younger than 14 from joining social media in the state. Those who are 14 or 15 will need a parent’s consent before they join a platform.

The bill, HB3, also directs social media companies to delete the existing accounts of those who are under 14. Companies that fail to do so could be sued on behalf of the child who creates an account on the platform. The minor could be awarded up to $10,000 in damages, according to the bill. Companies found to be in violation of the law would also be liable for up to $50,000 per violation, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs.

“Ultimately, [we’re] trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids, and so I appreciate the work that’s been put in,”

 

[JimmyRustler]

Thank god it’s starting. Been saying for years that this trash is going to be adult only at some point. Bad enough it messes up the minds of grown ups, no need to give children access to it.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Good.


Will be hard to implement, but we need less social media not more.

 

[IFireflyl]

Good. Now ban adults, too.

 

[The Cockatrice]

How are they going to monitor/stop kids impersonating online as adults? You dont need a credit card or any id to sign up for x/fb/insta/etc.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Good.


Will be hard to implement, but we need less social media not more.

This. A whole generation destroyed by algorithms.

 

[SoloCamo]

How are they going to monitor/stop kids impersonating online as adults? You dont need a credit card or any id to sign up for x/fb/insta/etc.

It's a slow, ever churning push towards online ID's just to use the net, mark my words. This is just the easy way to slide us into that future. Why are we applauding the government doing something the parents should be doing? This will be circumvented rather easily...

Good. Now ban adults, too.

Careful what you ask for, sites like this will soon be forced to have verification too as they can easily fall under a social media umbrella.

 

[SlimySnake]

Should be 18. The mental health stats of kids on social media are absolutely shocking. I was at a wedding and all the kids under ten were on phones playing robolox instead of running around having fun. I saw some hiding under tables. weddings were my favorite growing up because i got to see my extended relatives and cousins you dont typically get to see. i had to give my son my iphone just so he could play robolox with his cousins who refused to do anything else at the wedding.

I think porn should be next. Ban it and then adults can call and activate it on their own IP devices. Teenagers can use their imagination to jerk off like we did back in the day.

 

[gothmog]

Lol. COPPA already has strict rules about children under 13. People will lie like they always have to go around it. How does one verify age or pretty much anything on the internet if someone wants to lie about it?

 

[The Cockatrice]

It's a slow, ever churning push towards online ID's

Teens have faked id's to get alcohol for ages. This is bill wont do shit, no idea why everyone is saying good lmao. It literally doesnt change a thing. Banning kids from social media wont change bad parenting.

 

[winjer]

How are they going to monitor/stop kids impersonating online as adults? You dont need a credit card or any id to sign up for x/fb/insta/etc.

That is one of the main issues with opponents of this law, as some think this might lead to some sort of "internet id"
Or maybe we will start seeing limitations, like we saw in Texas regarding access to porn sites.

 

[SoloCamo]

Teens have faked id's to get alcohol for ages. This is bill wont do shit, no idea why everyone is saying good lmao. It literally doesnt change a thing.

Completely understood, the problem I have is that we are giving the greenlight to actual regulations that will slaughter what little privacy is left online. It's also a hell of a lot easier to fake a physical ID handed to an underpaid cashier than one that has to be verified against a stored government database.

 

[TheAtomicPile]

Seems like a step in the right direction. Considering these platforms exist to harvest data and turn users and their behavior into a product, we should have been doing more to protect kids from the beginning. I'd even say 18 would be a better age requirement.

I believe they all have TOS that say you have to be over 13 already, but...

How are they going to monitor/stop kids impersonating online as adults? You dont need a credit card or any id to sign up for x/fb/insta/etc.

This is the issue. Kids already are in violation of most or all of the TOS of these companies if they're under 13. Not sure what this law actually does to stop that.

Seems like requiring a CC and having there be a $1 charge or something might help. Of course a kid could just ask their parents for their CC, but at least the parents would know then that the account is being created and have the ability to refuse.

 

[Saber]

It should ban mentally disturbed and sick people as well. Either that or ban social media althogether.

 

[JayK47]

Social media is crack and should be treated as such.

 

[gothmog]

Social media is crack and should be treated as such.

It's a symptom and not the disease. People flail about being unhappy and trying to find meaning in their lives. Social media makes everyone feel both great and bad about their lives at the same time, which is very much in line with it being a drug.

Banning it will drive it underground which probably makes it worse for the really evil sides.

 

[Mistake]

As another poster said, we already have COPPA. Make it so they actually care about the fines and that should be enough. Leave the rest to parents. There's plenty of tools available to block sites and whatever else you don't want your kid accessing. They even make child friendly phones or smart watches now which are dumbed down to the bare essentials

 

[GymWolf]

This is not gonna fix absolutely anything.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Good. Now ban social media for all.

 

[winjer]

The idea is good. The problem is going to be how to enforce it.

 

[near]

If the age restriction was higher I think it would have more of an impact. 15-18 year olds are still very vulnerable and impressionable to the content found on social media. Then you have the issue of implementing the restrictions and enforcing them, it's so easy to circumvent registration guidelines. Pointless endeavour without a proper plan.

 

[jason10mm]

I'd like legislation that eliminates a lot of the predatory "free to play" model of forced ads, endless microtransactions, and viscous subscription models for stuff aimed squarely at kids. It'd be nice if we could also curtail youtube streamers that push this stuff to kids as well.

Yes, I'm asking the government to be a better parent than me

 

[poppabk]

Good. Now ban social media for all.

The number of people on a social media site (Neogaf) wanting social media banned is a little weird.

 

[near]

The number of people on a social media site (Neogaf) wanting social media banned is a little weird.

This isn’t a social media site, it’s a message board. Quite different intent purposes.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

The number of people on a social media site (Neogaf) wanting social media banned is a little weird.

A forum isn't and never was considered "social media". This is a forum that you need authorization to actually register, it's a place with mods, there's no algorithms shaping whatever shows up in your screen, you never live in a bubble and forums were never a place that has influenced human perspective and behavior like social media has.

If you really don't see the difference between Neogaf and social media...i can't help you then.

 

[nush]

Good.


Will be hard to implement, but we need less social media not more.

I don't know what else they can do as kids don't have driving licenses or stuff.

 

[Fake]

I do agree. Social media did a huge damage to kids mental health.

 

[Fbh]

The idea itself isn't bad but I don't see how they can enforce it in a way that's effective and doesn't take away what little privacy we still have online.

 

[mortal]

As much as I agree with the spirit of the bill, it will take more than legislation to make an actual impact.
Parents need to become more proactive in monitoring their children's social media usage and find ways to curb their addiction.
That social pressure will always be present outside home, and if parents aren't providing incentives or healthier alternatives, there's little this bill can do to change things culturally imo.

 

[Complistic]

Not enough, but it's in the right direction.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Teens have faked id's to get alcohol for ages. This is bill wont do shit, no idea why everyone is saying good lmao. It literally doesnt change a thing. Banning kids from social media wont change bad parenting.

Alcohol consumption diminished greatly during prohibition. Requiring ID unquestionably makes it more difficult to drink as a kid.

 

[kruis]

It sounds like a good idea until you realize that it means that adults will also have to provide ID verification when signing up for Youtube, Facebook, X, Instagram, Tiktok, etc etc. Even a forum like Neogaf could be classified as a social media platform.

What's going to happen then? Do you first have to sign up with a government site to prove you're an adult before you can add a dislike to the latest Disney movie trailer? This is the first step into a world where anonymity doesn't exist anymore.

 

[22:22:22]

GG Florida

 

[German Hops]

there are adults who should be banned from social media, so I guess.

 

[Zelduh]

All the "but think of the children!" and "protect the children!" crap is always just a way to increase government tyranny and reduce all our rights. Fuck the children.

 

[ProtoByte]

Yeah, no.
This is where the right gets the "reactionary" label attached to it legitimately. Let's stop pretending like the world was ever or will ever be clean and sanitized. Figure out how to guide your children not to even want to be on social media, or to be very measured in their usage for it.

Don't give the government of today the greenlight to monitor your children and you unnecessarily. Even if you trust them, the government of tomorrow will find a way to abuse that power.

 

[SoloCamo]

It sounds like a good idea until you realize that it means that adults will also have to provide ID verification when signing up for Youtube, Facebook, X, Instagram, Tiktok, etc etc. Even a forum like Neogaf could be classified as a social media platform.

What's going to happen then? Do you first have to sign up with a government site to prove you're an adult before you can add a dislike to the latest Disney movie trailer? This is the first step into a world where anonymity doesn't exist anymore.

Verified accounts are already being pushed to check people's reactions. X already does, twitch, etc. Sure, as I've said in other threads - it's optional...for now.

 

[Spyxos]

What does social media include? Does it include youtube?

 

[kruis]

What does social media include? Does it include youtube?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs social media ban for minors as legal fight looms

Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges.

www.cbsnews.com

The bill does not name social media platforms that would be affected. But it includes a definition of such platforms, with criteria related to such things as algorithms, "addictive features" and allowing users to view the content or activities of other users.

Based on that vague definition: yes.

 

[Spyxos]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs social media ban for minors as legal fight looms

Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges.

www.cbsnews.com

Based on that vague definition: yes.

I find YouTube more harmless than the other platforms. I would leave youtube out of it, but limit it to 1-2 hours per day.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

It should ban mentally disturbed and sick people as well. Either that or ban social media althogether.

I propose banning social media altogether

 

[jshackles]

I agree that kids shouldn't be on social media. In fact, I'd argue this doesn't do enough - because 14 is (in my opinion) still too young.

On the flip side, I wonder about the privacy implications for enforcement. These are the same concerns I have about other state's "porn ban" laws - in that these sorts of bills limiting people's freedoms online could easily be a gateway for government agencies to have even MORE tracking of their citizen's online habits.

 

[Nydius]

As much as I hate what social media has done to society at large and would love to see a return to the days pre-Facebook, I'm one of the few no votes.

Maybe straying too close to the political fire but, I feel the need to explain. I lean to the conservative (not Republican) side which means I believe in smaller, less intrusive government at all levels. When it comes to an issue like sexually explicit content in public elementary and middle schools, I don't have a problem with state bans because the state is already intertwined with the process. The state saying "no, we won't allow explicit content in government run education facilities but parents are still free to buy those books elsewhere" is fine.

This ban goes further than that and interjects politics into parenting.
Florida is usurping choice from parents and creating a situation that becomes a privacy nightmare for all involved.
I don't agree with it when the left does it, I'm not going to agree with it when the right does it.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

As a parent living in Florida, YES. Kids DO NOT NEED TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I argue a kid doesn't need a phone until at least 14-16. They don't run businesses or commerce. They don't need that temptation device on them at all times.

 

[Nydius]

As a parent living in Florida, YES. Kids DO NOT NEED TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I argue a kid doesn't need a phone until at least 14-16. They don't run businesses or commerce. They don't need that temptation device on them at all times.

I wholeheartedly agree with every single one of your points I've put in bold.
However, that's your decision to make as a parent.
It's not the government's decision to make for you with a blanket ban.

If a parent wants to give their children access to social media despite knowing the risks of doing so, that should be their prerogative. There's already a federal law that's supposed to protect children 13 and under by preventing them from signing up for online accounts without parental consent (Children's Online Privacy Act) and it has done little to prevent them from obtaining access. Florida's law is practically unenforceable without massive privacy implications.

Nikki Haley went on the record saying social media users should be identity verified and got absolutely destroyed by both sides of the political spectrum. This law effectively leads to the same thing because the only way to ensure minors under 14 are not using social media is to tie social media accounts/registration with verified identification.

Not directly related to your quote but after reading the text for HB3 (PDF), not only is this a full ban for anyone under 14, it adds a new requirement for parental consent for new accounts by anyone ages 14 to 15 (section 3(a)) and existing accounts by those 14 to 15 must be terminated until such consent is granted (section 3(b1)). So, effectively, anyone under 16 will have their accounts cut off.

 

[simpatico]

You have to enforce stuff like this through culture. It won't work as a law.

 

[AJUMP23]

Should kids be on social media, No. should the state determine that no as well. Social media is the worst, especially for minors. But I hate this type of regulation.

 

[Rentahamster]

I'd rather not have the government restrict free speech, free expression, and free information to this extent.

Ironic, considering the free speech warriors are implementing this.

 

[mitch1971]

Teenagers can use their imagination to jerk off like we did back in the day.

 

[Pejo]

In this particular case I agree whole heartedly, but boy that's an oiled up slope if I ever saw one.