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Ron DeSantis signs bill requiring parental consent for kids to join social media platforms in Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida just signed into law a bill that requires parental consent for kids under 16 to hold social media accounts. It also completely prevents children under 14 from joining these platforms.

The bill doesn’t name any specific social media platforms, but suggests that any service that promotes “infinite scrolling” will have to follow these new rules, as will those that feature display reaction metrics, live-streaming and auto-play videos. The group says that HB 3 will essentially impose an “ID for the internet”, arguing that the age verification component will have to widen to adequately track whether or not children under 14 are signing up for social media apps. Paul Renner, the state’s Republican House Speaker, said at a press conference for the bill signing that a “child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked in to these addictive technologies, and to see the harm, and step away from it.

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