The Florida House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a bill aimed at barring children aged 16 and younger from social media platforms, following similar action in several states to limit online risks to young teenagers.
Passed by a bipartisan vote of 106 to 13, the measure would require social media platforms to terminate the accounts of anyone under 17 years old and use a third-party verification system to screen out the underaged.
"We must address the harmful effects social media platforms have on the development and well-being of our kids," said Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.
"Florida has a compelling state interest and duty to protect our children, their mental health, and their childhood."
The bill would also require firms to permanently delete personal information collected from the terminated accounts and let parents bring civil suits against those failing to do so.
The legislation now goes to the Florida state Senate for consideration. Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature.
Sponsors said the measure was necessary to protect children from depression, anxiety and other mental health woes they say are linked to excessive use of social media, whose addictive aspects critics say make children especially vulnerable.
Opponents argued that the bill goes too far, with some urging less restrictive measures, such as letting parents opt in or out of allowing their children to use social media.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, opposed the legislation, usually referred to as HB1, saying it would limit parental discretion and raise data privacy concerns.
"HB 1 would require each new social media user, from a 13-year-old in Miami to a 73-year-old from Boca Raton, to provide possibly sensitive identifying information, such as a driver's license or birth certificate to a third-party organization to verify their age," Meta's Caulder Childs told the House's Judiciary Committee at a hearing on Jan. 17.
