Ron DeSantis vetoes measure that prohibits the use of social networks by minors under 16 years of age

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill approved by the state Congress that established a total ban on the use of social networks by minors under 16 years of age, a proposal that stood as the strictest of its kind in the United States.

The Republican, who had already been skeptical of the text he received for his signature, noted that the Legislature is about to produce a “different and superior” bill.

“It is important to protect children from the harms associated with social media, as is supporting parental rights,” he said on social media.

DeSantis, who in January abandoned the Republican primaries to choose the nominee for next November’s presidential election, anticipated that the new bill will recognize those priorities and will soon become law.

The bill that he vetoed had been approved by both chambers on February 22 and stipulated that social media companies prohibit users under 16 years of age from creating accounts and that they hire the services of external companies for age verification.

Although initiatives of this caliber have been discussed in other states, the Florida project included the greatest restrictions in this field by not considering the authorization of parents or legal guardians as an exception.

The speaker of the state House of Representatives, Republican Paul Renner, had referred to “addictive characteristics” of these applications, which “are really bottles of poison on the table.”

“Therefore, parental participation constitutes, in my opinion, a poison pill for the constitutionality of the bill. “That’s just not a place we can go,” he told reporters shortly after the measure was approved in the state legislature.

DeSantis had said that while the apps have “addictive” features, it should be parents who have the final say.

The promoters of the bill accused social networks of being the main cause of the increase in suicide rates among adolescents, as well as ‘cyberbullying’ and cases of pedophilia.

Opponents, however, pointed out that the project went against the First Amendment of the Constitution, by prohibiting parents from supervising the use of social networks.

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