Lawsuit filed over Florida bill that bans children under 14 from having social media accounts

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Computer & Communications Industry Association announced that they have filed a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Florida’s HB3, the law that bans children under 14 years old from having social media accounts.

CCIA, along with co-plaintiff NetChoice, asks the court in the 48-page lawsuit filed on Monday for an injunction that would block HB3 from taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

The bill, in part, would prevent children under 14 from opening accounts. Parents can give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts.

[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]

According to a news release, the suit alleges that HB3 is unlawful for reasons that include:

• It covers only the websites that minors like to use regularly, effectively punishing those users—and their favorite websites—in a manner wholly inconsistent with the First Amendment.
• It completely prohibits minors under age 14 from creating accounts on the websites it covers.
• It requires 14- and 15-year old minors to obtain parental consent before creating accounts, which likewise restricts core First Amendment activity. In an attempt to save HB3 from an adverse court decision, Florida created a default alternative whereby these minors would simply be banned, only exacerbating the First Amendment injury.
• It endangers adults’ access to lawful content by imposing harsh sanctions to punish websites when they are deceived into creating an account for a minor.
• It restricts the First Amendment rights of websites to display lawful content.

“This social media law infringes on the First Amendment rights of both minors and adults by creating significant barriers to accessing online information that every American, including minors, has a right to see,” said Stephanie Joyce, senior vice president and chief of staff for CCIA. “Protecting children online is an important goal that CCIA shares with legislators, and the far better way to ensure their protection is to give parents the information and tools they need to shield their children from unsuitable content, as digital services providers already have done for decades.”

According to the release, CCIA said it supports enhanced protections for younger users online, but prefers parents decide what content their children can access.

The full lawsuit has been attached to this story and can be read by scrolling below.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: