Ron DeSantis has proven he’s a tough cookie when it comes to protecting Florida’s citizens and his recent signing of the country’s most restrictive Social Media bills is proof of just that.
The Florida Governor has given the green signal to barring kids under 14 from having accounts online. And if they happen to fall between the 14 to 16-year age bracket, then they now require parental consent.
Additionally, plenty of restrictions against in regards to teenagers utilizing social media apps. This new law has been making the headlines. Dubbed HB 3, it needs users to verify their age if they wish to visit explicit websites.
DeSantis mentioned during his recently published speech how social media seems to be doing more harm than good to children’s minds in several ways. Now, the latest passing of the bill means a greater chance to guard children from society’s harms, he says.
The latest law is said to come into play by the start of next year but that does not mean it’s not coming with plenty of challenges. It’s all geared up to face plenty of criticism from leading strongholds linked to the First Amendment as confirmed by NBC News recently.
The tech industry group NetChoice that’s linked to Meta, X, Google, and a host of other top social media apps had requested the Florida Governor in the past to add a veto to that bill. Then we saw the same group shared its concerns on how so many social media platforms would be forced to engage in data collection to be in compliance with such laws and that really puts a lot of those from Florida at risk in terms of privacy protection.
Other critics have voiced their opinions on this front and how there are a host of other means to ensure citizens are kept safe and this might not be the best option out there in terms of keeping their data guarded at all times, not to mention how it keeps violating people’s freedoms.
But the state of Florida is not alone. This latest ruling makes Florida join the bandwagon of those states issuing protests or entering into debates for the passing of laws. These would restrict how the younger lot gains access to the world of social media seen online.
Many of those are driven by issues linked to the newest research that’s leaked from the app itself which found how Instagram could negatively affect the lives of young teens’ mental health out there today.
Other locations that keep giving rise to similar bills entail the likes of Arkansas, Ohio, Utah, and even Louisiana. And while a lot of those bills seem to be struggling in terms of getting the right approval due to privacy matters and even freedom of speech, Florida might be ahead of the pack for now.
We’re also seeing California consider similar rulings dubbed Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction. This is sponsored via the state’s AG and a host of other senators.
These new regulations happen to be a part of the latest series put out by legislators from all over the globe to hasten up rules linked to the tech sector. The EU gave out huge fines and put out the latest rules that make tech giants like Apple, Meta, and Alphabet compete as well as interoperate with each other.
On the other hand, we’ve got the likes of American lawmakers having serious concerns linked to the world of social media and what effect that has on things such as national security. President Joe Biden added how he would now be signing a bill that would block the app from working in the country. As expected, that news didn’t sit down well with users who are huge fans of TikTok.
Biden and a host of other lawmakers feel it’s about time the platform was banned as it was a serious threat to national security by sharing private data belonging to citizens to government officials in China. And no matter how much TikTok denies it, the matter seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
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