The House passed the bill by a vote of 106 to 13, with many Democrats joining the chamber's Republican majority in support of the bill. It now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for consideration.
It would also require that social media sites use "reasonable age verification methods" to verify users' ages.
Aside from the general issue I have with this, this part especially worries me. What do they consider reasonable and would it involve potential identity theft if there is a data leak?
Social media goes against their educational programming. They want misinformed youth entering the workforce, can't have any of the "leftist" social media contradicting their narrative.
Reducing child labor laws, banning books, banning abortion, banning LGBTQIA+ related-activities and banning gender-affirming care...it's clear they have a certain direction they want to take today's youth. I expect that FL is leading towards a religion-based upbringing for the youth in their state.
I'd like to point out that for many of our LGBT+ youth living in hostile places, social media is their safe space. It's tragic that such is the case, but I've seen maps where LGBT+ people post where we're from, and some of them are kids in the middle of a reservation in a town with 20 people, and they're all alone.
As much of a distaste I have for social media use in general, I often think about these kids and the reasons they have for using it.
I'm also well aware of the risks of kids being exploited via social media, but I'm not convinced the best answer is just shutting them off like this.
Maybe comforting to think about it like this: kids find a way. Every generation has individuals that will outsmart restrictive methods out there for the masses.
Wouldn’t it be easier to put this on ISPs? They actually know your address. Social media companies can only guess. IP is not a guarantee that you’re in-state.