Children under the age of 14 in Florida will be prohibited from using social media from next year, to prevent youngsters from being "sucked into addictive technologies"- but should the law be applied in the UK too?
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill, titled HB3, on Monday, which also states parental consent will be required before 14 and 15 year-olds can join an online platform, such as Instagram or Facebook. Social media companies will be forced to remove existing accounts for those who are under 14, or face being sued on behalf of the child who has made the account.
According to the legislation, a youngster could be awarded up to $10,000 (£7,908) in damages, while companies could also be fined up to $50,000 (£39,538) per violation of the law. Republican speaker Paul Renner branded the bill his "top priority", adding: "A child in their brain development doesn't have the ability to know that they're being sucked into these addictive technologies."
What’s more, the bill has warned that social media promotes harmful material to minors which is "lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value", and contains "patently offensive" sexual messages and indecency. The legislation is expected to come into force in January 2025, but will contend with challenges by firms who claim the bill violates the US constitution.
Trade group NetChoice, which is linked with Meta, TikTok and X, have accused the bill of "violating freedoms" of Floridians. NetChoice vice president Carl Szabo said: "We’re disappointed to see Gov. DeSantis sign onto this route.
"There are better ways to keep Floridians, their families and their data safe and secure online without violating their freedoms." This comes as Priory Group's research recently revealed that 92 percent of UK parents think that social media and the internet is having a negative impact on the mental health of young people.
The main reasons were reported to be cyber-bullying (50%), lowering self-esteem (41%), anxiety over getting enough likes/followers (40%), loss of face-to-face interaction (47%), loss of quality sleep (43%), and its encouragement of early sexualisation (39%). MP Miriam Cates recently spoke at Prime Minister's Questions about 14-year-old Mia Janin, who is believed to have taken her own life, after claims she was cyber-bullied emerged.
She said: "The press reported the tragic case of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life following horrific social media bullying, including on TikTok and Snapchat. Since 2010, across the English speaking world, there's been a marked increase in poor teen mental health, teen suicide attempts and children addicted to pornography."
The mother of murdered teen Brianna Ghey has also called for children under 16 to be banned from social media and have smartphones with no access to networking apps. Esther wants teenagers to be given phones that are "suitable" for them and linked to their parents' phone to flag suspicious activity.
Her plea comes after it was revealed one of 16-year-old Brianna's killers, Scarlett Jenkinson, also 16, was fixated with the dark web, which she accessed on her phone, and claimed to have viewed live murder and torture streams.
Following Florida’s latest legislation, we want to know if you think social media should be banned for under 14’s in the UK? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
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