Jesse Scheckner
Legislation to better safeguard kids online is bound for its last House committee hearing after clearing its second stop with uniform support.
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 15-0 to advance HB 743, which would require social media platforms to allow parents and legal guardians to view their 14- or 15-year-olds’ messages.
Police would be given access too, with a warrant or parental permission. Platforms would also be prohibited from allowing kids under 14 to use or access messages designed to disappear after a certain period of time, like those on Snapchat and Instagram.
Florida lawmakers in 2024 passed a law limiting minors’ access to social media platforms, including prohibiting kids 13 and younger from holding accounts and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The restriction is now being challenged in court.
HB 743 differs from its upper-chamber companion (SB 868), which takes aim at end-to-end encryption that many platforms use to protect their systems and users from privacy breaches.
Escambia County Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman, who filed HB 743 with Merritt Island Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois, said her bill “basically just tells social media platforms that they must provide access to parents, as well as law enforcement with a warrant.”
The Florida Citizens Alliance, Florida Smart Justice Alliance and Florida Family Voice signaled support for HB 743 on Wednesday.
The bill passed through its first committee last week, also with zero “no” votes.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 1 in 5 children per year receives an unwanted sexual solicitation online. And 1 in 33 are targets of aggressive sexual solicitation, which involves pushes by the culprit to make offline contact. And at any given time, some 50,000 predators are on the internet actively seeking out children.
HB 743 will next go to the House Budget Committee before heading to the chamber floor.
SB 868, sponsored by Spring Hill Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, surmounted its first committee hurdle on a 7-2 vote Tuesday after receiving criticism from both sides of the dais about its potential impact on cybersecurity and privacy.
