Tech industry claims Florida bill aimed at protecting kids on social media may end online anonymity

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House is expected to pass compromise legislation Wednesday evening aimed at protecting children online, especially on social media.

Despite the addition of a parental consent option for 14- and 15-year-olds to have social media accounts, the tech industry still has major concerns.

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Specifically, in the way the bill mandates age verification, not just for social media websites, but for adult websites, for example, pornographic websites.

House Bill 3 strikes a balance between concerns raised by Governor Ron DeSantis around parental choice and House Speaker Paul Renner’s (R-Palm Coast) desire to make the internet a safer place for children.

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The bill prohibits kids 13 and younger from having social media accounts, which is in line with federal law, and requires parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds to have social media accounts.

State Representative Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay) co-sponsored the original legislation, HB 1.

“Anything we can do to protect children from the vagaries of social media is important. These companies are putting in tools to make these things addictive and damaging,” Fine said.

But Carl Szabo with NetChoice, an organization dedicated to internet freedom, argued the bill still poses major issues.

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“That’s like saying a massive head wound isn’t as bad as you thought it was. It’s still a massive head wound,” Szabo said.

The main concern from the tech industry revolves around the bill’s requirement for social media companies to verify the age of users, which could involve presenting IDs or other sensitive information.

“Collection of social security numbers, drivers license numbers, passport information, coupled with your face every single time you sign on,” Szabo said.

RELATED: Florida lawmakers pass ban on social media for kids under 16 despite constitutional concerns

And the age verification goes beyond just social media.

Adult websites would also be subjected to the requirements, which Szabo argues could pose serious concerns in the event of a data leak.

“One of the best ways to really terrorize somebody is get a list of their search history, get a list of their browser history because at the end of the day, we’ve all looked at some website somewhere that could be used by someone who doesn’t like us to make us look bad,” Szabo said.

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The bill does require any identifying information to be deleted after the age verification process.

Fine argued that’s one of several safeguards in the bill that should alleviate privacy concerns.

“The fact is they’re not going to want any bill and I understand that. It’s America and they’re making tons of money. Why would they want anything? But the fact of the matter is we have an obligation in Florida to protect children and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” Fine said.

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Szabo noted Florida is not the first state to attempt something like this.

Four other states have attempted to implement age verification for certain websites.

At least three of those laws have been put on hold by the courts, and the effort in Florida is likely to face a similar legal challenge.

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