By law, social media platforms must close accounts of children under 14; and accounts created by children under 16 without parental consent.
This ban is intended to protect young people from risks affecting mental health. This ban is intended to protect young people from risks affecting mental health.
On March 25, the Governor of the US state of Florida, Mr. Ron DeSantis, signed a law prohibiting children under 14 years old from using social networks, a measure to protect young people from risks affecting mental health. God.
According to the above law, social media platforms must close accounts of children under 14 years old. The same measure also applies to accounts created by children under 16 years of age without parental consent.
In addition, the law also requires social media platforms to use a third-party review system to screen underage people who create accounts.
This document also provides measures to protect children’s mental health, avoiding the risk of them falling into “social network addiction,” which can cause unpredictable consequences.
These consequences may include children being influenced by negative information on social networks such as violence and bullying at school, the “trend” of suicide among young people, and sexual harassment in cyberspace. . This negative information leads to consequences in children’s perceptions and actions in daily life.
In an announcement, Governor DeSantis said that social networks harm children in many different ways without parental control. He believes that the above law will create more favorable conditions for parents to protect their children when using social networks.
However, there have been opposing views on the above law. Supporters say the document will help prevent the negative effects social media has on children’s mental health through excessive use of these platforms. Meanwhile, some views believe that the provisions of the law go against the right to freedom of expression as stipulated in the US Constitution.
Responding to the above measure, Meta Technology Group – the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, said that this new regulation will limit the decision-making power of parents, while also increasing concerns about security issues. Protect personal data as user information will be provided upon age verification.
In March 2023, Utah became the first US state to pass a law regulating children’s access to social networks. After that, other states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas also introduced similar measures./.