The bill is expected to face legal challenges.

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,” DeSantis said in remarks during the bill-signing ceremony.

  • @[email protected]English
    73•8 months ago

    Most of them are already 13+, so really this is only extending that by 1 year. It’s performative. Also he’s going to make everyone under 14 want to create accounts now just in hopes that the company doesn’t delete it and they can sue for their $10k.

    I wonder what qualifies as ‘social media’. Is a Steam account ‘social media’? Its social features tick most of the boxes.

    • @[email protected]English
      16•8 months ago

      I wonder what qualifies as ‘social media’. Is a Steam account ‘social media’? Its social features tick most of the boxes.

      I linked to the text in a top-level comment.

      “Social media platform” means an online forum, website, or application that satisfies each of the following criteria:

      1. Allows users to upload content or view the content or activity of other users;

      2. Ten percent or more of the daily active users who are younger than 16 years of age spend on average 2 hours per day or longer on the online forum, website, or application on the days when using the online forum, website, or application during the previous 12 months or, if the online forum, website, or application did not exist during the previous 12 months, during the previous month;

      3. Employs algorithms that analyze user data or information on users to select content for users; and

      4. Has any of the following addictive features:

      a. Infinite scrolling, which means either:

      (I) Continuously loading content, or content that loads as the user scrolls down the page without the need to open a separate page; or

      (II) Seamless content, or the use of pages with no visible or apparent end or page breaks.

      b. Push notifications or alerts sent by the online forum, website, or application to inform a user about specific activities or events related to the user’s account.

      c. Displays personal interactive metrics that indicate the number of times other users have clicked a button to indicate their reaction to content or have shared or reposted the content.

      d. Auto-play video or video that begins to play without the user first clicking on the video or on a play button for that video.

      e. Live-streaming or a function that allows a user or advertiser to broadcast live video content in real-time.

      The term does not include an online service, website, or application where the exclusive function is e-mail or direct messaging consisting of text, photographs, pictures, images, or videos shared only between the sender and the recipients, without displaying or posting publicly or to other users not specifically identified as the recipients by the sender.

      • @[email protected]English
        15•8 months ago

        I think that Criterion 2 is going to limit the practical impact of the law. The burden of the proof will be on the plaintiff, so they’re going to have to prove what a percentage of the userbase under a certain age is doing, and I don’t see as how even the social media company is going to know with great certainty what the age of its userbase is, much less a plaintiff.

      • CubitOomEnglish
        10•8 months ago

        Does this mean that Lemmy is not social media because it’s not ranking content with an algorithm?

        I guess it depends on the definition of algorithm is as just sorting by newest is a type of algorithm.

      • Alto
        8•8 months ago

        Oh man I had forgotten about scratch. So much time spent there in middle school and high school classes. Still kinda surprised I wasn’t a CS major.

    • Frog-Brawler
      6•8 months ago

      FL: the new world of the subversive state. That’s what he’s creating.