WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Lawmakers are back at the state house this week, and one issue with multiple bills on the table is social media access for minors.
Two bills could change what minors can access online along with who is allowed to have social media accounts.
WPTV spoke with parents split on the issue.
Parent Adrienne Araptis is clear on where she stands on social media.
"It's very distracting, and it is also taking their attention span," Araptis said.
Recently, two House Republicans in the state Legislature filed House Bill One, titled "Social Media Use for Minors."
The bill is designed to prevent children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts.
"It's very hard to regulate how our children are on it. So, I wouldn't mind some kind of regulation," Araptis said.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, recently said social media is having a devastating effect on kids and that lawmakers should be able to impose online regulations in a meaningful way.
HB 1 would require social media platforms to bar minors under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts and also use age verification methods when new accounts are created.
It would also require social media platforms to cancel the existing accounts held by those younger than 16 years old and would give parents the right to request an account be cut off.
"I feel conflicted ... because all kids aren't necessarily the same in terms of their level of maturity and how they're going to utilize the platform," parent Samantha Arango said.
Arango is a mother and user of social media platforms. While there's content, she doesn't want her son to be exposed too she also doesn't want the government parenting her child.
"As a mother to my son, I feel like I have the last say and so a law kind of being about that is not really something I would be interested in because I want to have the say in that," Arango said.
A separate measure, House Bill 3 has also been filed, and if passed, would require age verification to help prevent anyone under 18 from accessing material harmful to minors.
WPTV contacted multiple social media platforms for their response to the bills.
TikTok sent WPTV a statement saying, in part, "TikTok works hard to support the safety and wellbeing of our community, especially teens and empower parents with tools and controls to safely navigate the digital experience."
Read HB 1 below:
Read HB 3 below:
