After signing of HB 3, parents can sue social media companies
DORAL, FL – HB 3 was signed into law on Monday by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and will go into effect on January 1, 2025. With the signing of the bill, that bans children under 14 from having access to social media accounts, parents could sue social media companies if they fail to comply with the law’s requisites.
Under the new law, a process of age verification must be conducted when anyone attempts to open or use a social media account or a sexually explicit website.
In addition, HB 3 demands for social media companies to delete existing accounts of under 14 children by the child’s request within five business days, or a parent’s request within 10 business days.
If a platform fails to take down the account in the mandated time, parents can sue companies on behalf of their children, potentially receiving up to $10,000 in damages, while allowing minors to access social media accounts after confirming their age is not the appropriate one, could make companies face up to $50,000 in penalties or fines per violation.
But restrictions don’t apply to under 14 only as 14 and 15-year-olds can only use social media accounts if they have parental consent that must be confirmed. If this doesn’t happen, the user has 90 days to file a dispute before being terminated.
HB 3 joins the long list of laws nationwide that have tried to limit the use of social media in minors due to the widely known dangers it entails. States including Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Ohio and Utah have pushed similar bills to regulate tech platforms.
Most of them have faced legal challenges. In February, a federal judge temporarily blocked Ohio’s law, fearing it could infringe on teens’ First Amendment rights to access information online, while last year, another federal judge temporarily blocked Arkansas’ law.
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