Drew Dixon
A computer lobbying group has filed a lawsuit calling for an end to Florida’s law passed this year that blocks teens from some internet social media platforms.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the listed co-defendant Netchoice filed a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief against HB 3, a measure the Legislature approved this year. The measure is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1.
The wording of the legislation specifically targets social media use by teens, requiring “social media platforms to prohibit certain minors from creating new accounts” and “requiring social media platforms to terminate certain accounts and provide additional options for termination of such accounts,” among other stipulations.
It’s the second legal action related to the Florida law the CCIA has taken in recent days. Last week, the organization petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the measure, with the computer organization claiming it violates the First Amendment.
The federal lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida in Tallahassee. Officially, the court filing listed Attorney General Ashley Moody as the defendant in the case, which is fairly standard practice for legal challenges filed against the state.
The 48-page court briefing lists multiple reasons why the CCIA believes Florida’s law barring underaged Floridians from access to social media is unjust.
The lawsuit states the CCIA is not against protecting youth from the potential dangers of social media use. But it argues the Florida measure is too scattershot and the legal challenge focuses on free speech.
“It (the new Florida law) covers only the websites that minors like to use regularly, effectively punishing those users — and their favorite websites — in a manner wholly inconsistent with the First Amendment,” a CCIA news release said Monday.
“It completely prohibits minors under age 14 from creating accounts on the websites it covers (and) it requires 14- and 15-year-old minors to obtain parental consent before creating accounts, which likewise restricts core First Amendment activity. In an attempt to save HB3 from an adverse court decision, Florida created a default alternative whereby these minors would simply be banned, only exacerbating the First Amendment injury.”
The general argument from the CCIA focuses, in the organization’s terms, on the repeated flouting of the First Amendment.
“This social media law infringes on the First Amendment rights of both minors and adults by creating significant barriers to accessing online information that every American, including minors, has a right to see,” said Stephanie Joyce, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff of the CCIA. “The far better way to ensure (children’s) protection is to give parents the information and tools they need to shield their children from unsuitable content, as digital services providers already have done for decades.”
