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Florida's DeSantis signs law restricting social media for people under 16
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that bans children aged under 14 from social media platforms and requires 14- and 15-year-olds to get parental consent, a measure supporters say will protect them from online risks to their mental health.
The measure requires social media platforms to terminate the accounts of people under 14 and those of people under 16 who do not have parental consent. It requires them to use a third-party verification system to screen out those who are underage.
The amended version allows for parents to provide consent for older children to engage on social media platforms. It will become law on Jan. 1, 2025.
[...] "Social media harms children in a variety of ways," DeSantis said in a statement. He said the legislation "gives parents a greater ability to protect their children."
[...] Critics have said the bill violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections for free speech and that parents, not the government, should make decisions about the online presence of their children of all ages.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by mendax on Friday March 29 2024, @10:04PM (9 children)
The chances of this law's survival are equal to those of DeSancimonious's presidential campaign once he started it: zero. Even a conservative US Supreme Court is very protective of the First Amendment, including that corrupt asshole Clarence Thomas. Kids have First Amendment rights but so do the adults who use the services. Requiring the use of third-party verification services violates the right to anonymity in First Amendment expression, whether that be speech or association.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 3, Informative) by SpockLogic on Friday March 29 2024, @10:28PM
Yep, it's just another example of the thin skinned bully who governs Florida pandering to the lowest denomination.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 3, Insightful) by crafoo on Friday March 29 2024, @11:09PM
no one takes the first amendment seriously. or really any part of the constitution. we bombed the first amendment bridge quite a while ago and everyone saluted and clapped. well, it served their personal interests at the time so we can hardly blame them.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DrkShadow on Friday March 29 2024, @11:28PM (1 child)
OTOH, PornHub is preparing to pull out (no pun intended, really) of Florida because of their ID-required age-verification.
This seems to be the same as that. PH seems to think this has a good chance of standing.
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As an aside, all these states have *finally* found their ticket against porn: just require actual ID-based age checks for each user (each time). That gets (legal) porn to leave!! Now they can consider everything else *il*legal and prosecute anyone who presents it. Maybe it'll be the return of AdultCheck (C).
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday March 29 2024, @11:51PM
Oh, what a pity. Florida has quite nice sunny bitches. :grin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 5, Interesting) by deimtee on Friday March 29 2024, @11:32PM (1 child)
Does it though? I could see a lawyer arguing that as stated the law doesn't target individuals at all and that it doesn't limit speech - it simply requires companies to perform certain actions.
Laws requiring companies to do specific things are certainly not new.
The 2nd amendment also makes no mention of age at all, but no-one has a problem with the fact that many laws stop children buying guns.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 4, Informative) by mendax on Saturday March 30 2024, @01:00AM
Yeah, but if that action is to identify yourself which is the only way to prove you are an adult, it's no longer anonymous speech. May I direct you to McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 514 U.S. 334 (1995) [wikipedia.org], my favorite First Amendment case, one that discusses the unconstitutionality of laws that ban anonymous speech? Clarence Thomas's concurrence, probably originally written in crayon, is worth reading despite the dubious character of its author.
True, but numerous courts have ruled that kids have unfettered First Amendment rights. The only limitation I am aware of is when what they say occurs on school grounds and interferes with the discipline and good order of the school.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday March 29 2024, @11:49PM
Childhood is the age the people learn to obey. And the American conservatives are all about obedience these days.
Likely, the law will stay for longer than you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Saturday March 30 2024, @12:14PM
The law failing to survive the Trump appointed Supreme is the whole point: Whether it's signing the law to release Epstein grand jury records, signing laws to prevent children from using SNS or all the recent resignations, the Republican party is going through a civil war where the anti-Trump side is conducting a protect-the-children scorched-earth campaign to purge the Trump-supporting pedophile donors, elected officials and appointed officials.
This is already reflected in the houses where, due to donor interests untangling, traditionally non-republican bills are quietly passing through the floor.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday March 30 2024, @06:51PM
...equal to those of DeSancimonious's presidential ...
Are you referring to Florida's first transgender governor, George Santos' sister Rhonda Santos? Dude, Trump's "humor" is so LAME. The man has no imagination at all.
Poe's Law [nooze.org] has nothing to do with Edgar Allen Poetry