Peter Schorsch
Tech experts say it’s impossible to police the internet, free speech advocates say we shouldn’t try.
Neither is inherently wrong. The decentralized nature of the internet makes it difficult for authorities to enforce laws meant to protect children from the seedier side of the web. Meanwhile, most policies with teeth raise legitimate questions about free speech and privacy rights.
No solution is perfect. But as a parent, I believe it’s worth trying to find a better way.
The internet is a challenging landscape for children to navigate safely. As the adults in the room, it’s our job to keep them safe. Online safety was central to the legislation passed last year under Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
The issue is the internet is an ever-evolving place and technology will quickly outrun us if we do not stay on top of things. That’s why new legislation (HB 931/SB 1438) proposed by Majority Leader Tyler Sirois and Sen. Erin Grall is so important.
Google, Microsoft and Apple are all innovative companies. They provide services which, for better or worse, have become ingrained in our daily lives. Show of hands: Could you do your job without a smartphone or computer? Such ubiquity demands responsibility — these corporations are the gateway to the internet, with the overwhelming majority of internet users getting online through one of their devices.
That fact alone serves as a compelling argument that device-level age verification is not only a good fit for the future, but also for the present. We have the technology to ensure every child using one of these devices can be age verified and kept off of sites aren’t for kids. That means enforcing the age restrictions on social media, as passed by Legislature, as well as websites hosting adult content or offering online gambling.
Device-level age verification could work hand in hand with the application-based approach, complementing its effectiveness by keeping kids away from explicit or otherwise inappropriate content not accessed through a dedicated app. The ease of sidestepping age requirements using a browser is a gigantic loophole in current policy, but it’s one that device-based verification could close.
This is not a legislative food fight. This is a fight for our children’s innocence. The technology to provide device-based age verification already exists, and every day that passes without a mandate is another day we allow our children unfettered access to an unsafe online world.
Multiple states are looking at different solutions to this problem, and while I commend them for making the effort, taking the Utah route by passing only an application-based solution would be an insufficient and short-sighted move.
Besides, Florida is a leader, not a follower. With HB 931 and SB 1438, our Legislature has an opportunity to put Florida ahead of the curve and, once again, show other states what effective policy looks like.
2 comments
Deplorable Pinellas
March 24, 2025 at 7:21 am
“Age verification ” is a back door Patriotic Act to associate adult identity to a profile. This isn’t about child safety at all.
Oscar
March 24, 2025 at 9:36 am
Agreed. If concerned about what your child is accessing on the internet the solution is simple, take the device away. It’s called parenting and it’s not the role of government. Our government, big tech and corporations already have far too much access to far too much information about each of us. Time to put an end to that or risk serfdom.