Social Media

Florida House members unanimously approved a bill requiring age verification for pornography websites. Lawmakers voted 119-0 Wednesday to send HB-3 to the Senate. House members supported the bill in committee hearings (see 2401170061 and 2401110044). Earlier Wednesday, Florida's House passed a bill (HB-1) restricting children younger than 16 from using social media regardless of parental consent (see 2401240079). The Computer & Communications Industry Association condemned HB-1 after the vote. “Legislation like this violates federal law and positions the government to block access to legal information online -- a Constitutional right even younger users do have,” said CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court granted the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition's unopposed motion for leave to intervene on the FCC’s behalf in opposing a petition seeking court review of the commission's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi service and equipment on school buses (see 2401200001). U.S. Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick signed the order Wednesday (docket 23-60641). Maurine and Matt Molak are challenging the FCC's ruling because they say it will increase E-rate program “outlays” and raise the federal universal service charge they pay as a line-item on their monthly phone bill. They also contend the ruling gives children and teenagers unsupervised social media access on school buses, and that this runs counter to the mission of David's Legacy Foundation, which advocates ending cyberbullying. The Molaks co-founded the foundation in memory of their son. The coalition argues that the Molaks’ petition, if successful, “would do great harm” to the interests of the coalition and its 300 members by “inhibiting online learning,” it said.

The FCC unanimously approved all its agenda items at Thursday's open meeting, including orders on mandatory outage reporting, mitigating orbital debris and misrouted 911 calls. The agency also announced millions of dollars in proposed pirate radio fines and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented on former President Donald Trump's remarks about revoking the “licenses” of CNN and NBC over their coverage of him (see 2401170050). “The First Amendment is something we take seriously and I take seriously,” Rosenworcel said. Commissioner Brendan Carr declined comment on the former president's remarks.

The Florida House supported removing kids younger than 16 from social media platforms in a 106-13 bipartisan vote Wednesday. Lawmakers approved HB-1 one day after rejecting an amendment that would have allowed parents to choose whether their children may use social media (see 2401230078). The bill now goes to the Senate. If the upper chamber approves it and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signs it, social media companies would need to terminate kids’ accounts July 1. "These companies know what they are doing is wrong,” said sponsor Rep. Tyler Sirois (R). “They have not acted … In Florida, we will.” The state government must step in to protect children from online threats, bullying and crime, agreed co-sponsor Rep. Fiona McFarland (R): Companies won’t self-police and the federal government isn’t acting. Most of the House’s 36 Democrats voted for HB-1, though several raised concerns in floor debate. Judiciary Committee ranking member Michael Gottlieb (D) doesn't oppose regulating social media but dislikes HB-1’s “very broad brush,” he said. "What we're saying is essentially that kids don't have the right to assemble," which the First Amendment protects. "When we take that from somebody" it must be through the "least restrictive means,” said Gottlieb. Rep. Daryl Campbell (D) said the bill’s intent “sounds good,” but it’s “complete governmental overreach” to tell parents they’re not fit to make the best decision for their children. Saying the bill is unconstitutional, Rep. Ashley Gantt (D) asked when Florida will stop telling parents that lawmakers know better. But Democrat Rep. Michele Rayner asked how lawmakers can tell parents that the First Amendment is more important than their child’s life. Rep. Kevin Chambless (D) said that "for every success story" on social media, there is "a negative story of exploitation." Rep. Katherine Waldron (D) said that while HB-1 “may not be popular among those 16 or under -- or perhaps among some parents -- the positives will far outweigh the negatives.”

South Carolina’s House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced a pair of age-verification bills to the floor (see 2401180027). Both bills passed the committee unanimously with a handful of members not voting. H-4700, which would require parental consent for minors younger than 18 to access social media, passed 21-0-4. H-3424, meant to keep kids off pornographic websites, passed 20-0-5.

Under a House bill advanced Tuesday, Florida would not allow parents to permit their children to use certain social media platforms. HB-1, which advanced to a final third-reading, would remove minors younger than 16 from the platforms July 1. "Studies have shown that social media is having a devastating impact on our kids,” and the platforms know it, said sponsor Rep. Tyler Sirois (R) at a livestreamed floor session. Likening social media to “a digital fentanyl,” he said “our children are challenged to break this habit.”

Parents aren't the only ones responsible for protecting their children online, and social media companies should do more as their safety obligations evolve with the rise of AI, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said Monday.

Consumer and industry advocates sounded alarms late last week over a proposed California ballot initiative that would make social media companies liable for up to $1 million in damages for each child their platform injures. Courts would likely find that Common Sense CEO James Steyer’s December proposal violates the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, said comments California DOJ forwarded to us Friday. For example, “Initiative 23-0035 is a misguided and unconstitutional proposal that will restrict all Californians’ access to online information,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said.

Senate committees will take a proactive stance on AI legislation in 2024 now that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has wrapped up his AI forums, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told us last week.

NetChoice slammed a proposed TikTok ban in Virginia immediately after Del. Jay Leftwich (R) introduced the measure Friday. HB-1468 would require TikTok to verify users’ ages and prohibit minors from visiting its social media platform. Under the bill, Virginia's attorney general could seek a $7,500 civil penalty for each violation, plus $7,500 per day that the violation continues. "This proposal is unconstitutional as we’ve already seen in other states that have tried this,” such as Montana, said NetChoice General Counsel Carl Szabo. He added, “Virginia representatives must reject this approach that, if passed, would ban Virginians from getting access to news, harm Virginia businesses and creators, require more data collection, and disconnect Virginians from online speech.”