Two States Can Now Restrict Social Media Access—Here’s What To Do Next

Last week, federal appeals courts ruled in favor of Florida and Georgia, allowing them to implement age-gating and access restrictions on social media platforms for individuals under the age of 16. These laws aim to protect minors from potential online harms but have raised concerns about their impact on free expression and privacy rights.

Under Florida's House Bill 3, individuals under 14 will be prohibited from creating or maintaining social media accounts, with parental consent required for those aged 14 or 15. Platforms must employ algorithms to enforce these rules and provide features such as livestreaming, engagement metrics, autoplay, infinite scrolling, and push notifications.

Georgia's Senate Bill 351 enables parents to grant consent for minors under 16 to access social media platforms, while requiring platforms to make commercially reasonable efforts to verify users' ages. This standard also applies to adults.

Critics argue that these laws may infringe upon minors' First Amendment rights by limiting their ability to access information, engage with online communities, and communicate with school board members. Additionally, the requirement for parental consent could pose challenges for adults, as well as present privacy risks. Both opinions acknowledge the potential expressive harms caused by these laws but express concerns about the plaintiffs' ability to demonstrate that the "invalid applications substantially outweigh the valid ones."

As these cases may be appealed, individuals in Florida and Georgia are encouraged to document any negative impacts they experience due to the new restrictions. This information can help bring attention to the consequences of these laws and potentially influence lawmakers to reconsider their implementation. To share your experiences, contact EFF at agegates@eff.org.