The Florida Legislature passed a bill Thursday that would force social media companies to exclude most minors. According to TheHill: The bill passed the House of Representatives on Thursday after being approved by the Senate and is currently awaiting approval from Governor Ron DeSantis, but he said he is not ready to sign the bill.
DeSantis told reporters on Friday that he believes there needs to be an "appropriate balance" between government regulation and parent input when it comes to social media. "We're going to weigh that." The governor said he would review the final version of the legislation over the weekend.
Federal law states that children 13 and under cannot have social media accounts, but the governor believes this is not actually enforced.
Lawmakers supporting the proposed social media ban argue that the ban, which would require platforms to check users' ages through third-party sources, would make the online environment safer for teenagers.
Within hours on Thursday, the state House of Representatives and Senate passed the legislation by a vote of 108 to 7 and 23 to 14, respectively.