- HB 1 - Social Media Use for Minors bill was passed by the Florida House Wednesday afternoon; it will now need the Senate's approval to reach the Governor's desk
- The bill would restrict minors under 16 from accessing social media and terminate existing account; lawmakers carrying the bill say the goal is to limit the impact of addictive features
- Watch the video below to hear neighbors and advocates weigh in on this bill
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Talking with my neighbors about the pros and cons of minors accessing social media. Concerns of bullying have been raised while others focus on the power of connection it can bring.
"Personally my kids will not have any social media accounts until they're 18," said Laura Eddy, Northwest Tallahassee resident. She has two daughters ages 7 and 4.
Eddy said they don't have access to the internet or any kind of social media because the darker sides of social media worry her too much.
"I don't want my kids exposed to people who are mean and ugly over the internet," said Eddy.
Social media impacts on minors are being addressed by the Leon County School Board. They tell me they voted to "enter the social media lawsuit due to concerns that social media companies were intentionally making social media more addictive to our nations youth."
Efforts to crack down on minors access to social media are also being pushed this legislative session.
"So much cry of a cry help from the community, that we really felt like we needed to act now," said Representative McFarland.
I visit Representative Sirois and McFarland, lawmakers carrying the HB1 - Social Media Use for Minors bill. The bill would prevent minors under the age of 16 from opening up any new social media accounts and terminate existing accounts. Representative Sirois said the bill is focused on confronting addictive features listing "infinite scroll, autoplay, some of these push notifications," as examples.
While this is working to limit screen time, advocates for social media said this limit can be harmful.
I hop on a call with Khara Boender with Computer & Communications Industry Association. She's advocating for policy issues that impact the technology industry. Boender said her concerns of this bill include constitutional issues. She said by requiring age-verification that would maybe deter certain users from submitting that type of information which "would potentially bar users from accessing open information online which would be covered under the first amendment," said Boender.
Boender is also also concerned about this bill cutting off community support online.
"We are very supportive of developing protections for younger users online," said Boender, "we just want to make sure that any approach doesn't introduce other problematic issues in the process."
I visit 13-year old Ryan West on the other side of town.
He said he uses social media every day and relies on it to
maintain friendships around the country. Without it he said, "I would be losing half the friends I know," said West. "I wouldn't have communication because I don't have their phone numbers."
I take Ryan's concerns to the Representatives. Representative Sirois said while he appreciate this point of view, data shows these social media features are harmful.
"When you see the increased rates of hospitalization for self-harm, when you see the increasing suicide rates," said Sirois, listing some of the data collected.
Representative McFarland said she recognizes these relationships teens have made online. She says they can still exist on other spaces on the internet without the need for social media.
"Every meaningful and good connection there is on social media, there's 5 examples of harmful behavior online," said McFarland.
HB1 - Social Media Use for Minors bill passed out of the lower chamber Wednesday afternoon. It'll now need the Senate's approval to reach the governor's desk.
