Florida lawmakers have sent a controversial social media bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature. That starts the clock on a seven-day period for the Governor to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
But the move comes as DeSantis continues to raise constitutionality questions, and parents’ groups demand he veto the legislation.
The Legislature passed a bill (HB 1) that would bar anyone under age 16 from opening or keeping a social media account on platforms with addictive features.
Speaker Paul Renner, who made the bill a top priority this Legislative Session, spotlighted broad support from law enforcement groups, including the Florida Police Chiefs Association, Florida Sheriffs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police Florida State Lodge and Florida Police Benevolent Association.
It also has backing from a number of individual Sheriffs and prosecutors, including Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Stand With Parkland, founded by families impacted by the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting, also endorsed the bill.
“Grateful for the overwhelming support of Florida’s law enforcement community,” Renner posted on X. “There’s no more important issue than the protection of our children.”
But other groups have demanded DeSantis hit the brakes on the bill. The Florida PTA launched a letter-writing campaign to encourage the Governor to deploy his veto pen.
“To his credit, Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed skepticism about the bill, noting both its erosion of the very parental rights the Legislature has been so quick to promote in recent years and its potential to trigger a constitutional challenge over free speech, privacy rights, and interstate commerce,” reads a call to action from the state’s largest parent organization.
Indeed, DeSantis has continued to highlight concerns about whether the bill could meet legal muster in court, and repeated those comments even after the Legislature passed a final version. As lawmakers were preparing to put the bill on his desk, he suggested there needs to be a way for parents of 14- and 15-year-olds to consent to their children using social media.
Language in the Senate has been narrowed since the start of Session. The final bill would require third-party verification and bar youths under age 16, but only for platforms on which 10% of young users access the service for more than two hours per week on average.
Of note, the Legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. The social media bill passed in the House by a 108-7 margin, and a Republican supermajority could nix such an action by the Governor. But it passed by only a 23-14 margin in the Senate, making an override in the upper chamber unlikely.
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