Florida’s DeSantis signs one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors, if it withstands expected legal challenges. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds. It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month. The new law will take effect Jan. 1. The bill DeSantis vetoed would have banned minors under 16 from popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.