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The Florida Senate today passed an amended social media bill (HB-3) prohibiting children under the age of 14 from being an account holder without parental consent.
Now that HB-3 has passed by a vote of 30-to-5 in the Senate, the proposal will go to the House for a final vote before the session ends Friday March 8th.
Without the amendment lowering the age from 16 to 14 and adding parental consent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was poised to veto the bill.
HB-3 also enables anonymity of age verification.
The bill sponsor Senator Erin Grall says the social media bill does not affect a child's use of the internet, only social media platforms.
Opponents of the bill like Senator Tina Polsky called the bill "too narrow" adding that everything on social media platforms is already available on the internet. Adding that, "It's not up to the state to control what parents are responsible for.
Research shows that 40% of 8–12-year-old kids are already on social media. Senator Grall says, "It is time we reclaim our kids."
The House must now vote on the amended bill before it heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk.