Florida Social Media Laws
The negative effects of social media on young people have been felt in Florida and across the United States. In response, the Sunshine State’s legislature has attempted to strengthen Florida’s social media laws to protect children and teenagers. If your family has been harmed, social media laws in Florida may allow you to recover damages. Call the Social Media Victims Law Center to learn more about your rights.
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Attorney Matthew Bergman
- Content last updated on:
- December 4, 2023
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by
- Content last updated on:
- December 4, 2023
Children and young adults are particularly susceptible to the harm that social media platforms can cause. Hundreds of families have spoken out in court against popular platforms such as Tiktok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Lawsuits filed against parent companies ByteDance, Snap Inc., and Meta allege that their products are defective and damaging to young users.
Some common complaints include failure to obtain parental consent for use, a lack of privacy features, harmful content, and dangerous algorithms causing addictive behavior. Children and teenagers exposed to social media have experienced negative mental health outcomes, including death by suicide.
Now, states like Florida are trying to enact numerous social media laws to protect kids and young adults from social media platforms. If your child or teenager has suffered from social media harm, contact the Social Media Victims Law Center to find out if you’re eligible to file suit. You may be able to recover damages and hold these large corporations accountable for putting profits over the safety and well-being of children.
Social Media Laws and Bills in Florida
Currently, several bills under consideration by the Florida Legislature aim at protecting children and teenagers on social media.
House Bill 361: Florida Media Literacy Law
House Bill 361, which would have required public schools to add social media literacy to the curriculum, died in subcommittee during the 2022 Florida legislative session. Among the provisions, the bill would have required public schools to provide instruction on social media and school boards to make social media literacy instructional material available online. It also would have enacted the state’s first legal definition of “social media.”
Several new bills are now under consideration in Florida regarding social media protections for children and teenagers in the state. If they pass, the legal definition of social media would appear in Florida legislation for the first time.
Senate Bill 52: Student Use of Social Media Platforms
Senate Bill 52 would task Florida school districts with preventing students from accessing social media platforms while using school-provided internet. It would also require public school boards in Florida to write policies prohibiting the use of electronic communication devices during instruction unless approved by the teacher. It would further allow teachers to seize unauthorized cell phones, tablets, and laptops from students during school hours.
Because this legislation would restrict student usage in a school setting, social media companies would have far fewer users during school hours.
It also mandates that schools provide instruction on social media safety for Florida students at certain grade levels. Some of the suggested curriculum topics include:
- Social media’s social, emotional, and physical effects
- The risks of social media addiction and misinformation
- The permanency of content shared online
- Digital citizenship
- Digital literacy
- Ethics and etiquette
- Identifying predatory behavior online
- The risks of online human trafficking
If this bill passes during the 2023 Florida legislative session, Florida S.B. 52 would take effect prior to the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.
Senate Bill 792: Social Media Protection for Minors
Senate Bill 792, introduced during the 2023 session, would require social media platforms to disclose how they moderate content. They would also have to disclose any addictive design features and their image manipulation policies.
Additionally, social media companies would have to provide user protections such as parental controls and implement procedures to report online bullying, harassment, or threats of violence and self-harm. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services would oversee and enforce these provisions and could levy fines against companies that fail to comply.
Under this proposed legislation, schools receiving state funding would also be prohibited from requiring students to use social media platforms for educational purposes.
The proposed measures would provide more transparency for the parents of children and teenagers using these apps and platforms and provide notification of potential risks.
If passed, the bill would go into effect on July 1, 2023.
House Bill 591: Social Media Protection for Minors
House Bill 591 shares similar language with Senate Bill 792, requiring social media platforms to increase consumer transparency by posting statements on their homepage or platform user login page. Additionally, it prohibits schools from requiring students to register or use social media accounts for instructional or communication purposes.
This legislation would allow the parents of children and teenagers to make informed decisions about their child’s social media use. The bill would also force social media platforms to disclose whether they sell personal user information obtained from social media accounts and, if so, to whom.
If passed, the legislation would go into effect this summer.
Social Media's Impact on Florida Youth
The effects of social media on Florida’s youth are undeniable. Children and teenagers are experiencing mental health challenges linked to social media use at a level society has never seen. Depression, anxiety, and attempted suicides have increased among young people nationwide over the last 20 years. These concerning trends have pushed states like Florida to further regulate social media companies and protect kids.
What are the negative effects of social media?
Florida, along with the rest of the country, is paying close attention to the increase of previously unheard-of issues in our society, including:
- Social media addiction
- Cyberbullying
- The impact social media is having on mental health
- Delayed social skills in teens due to social media use
- Social media violence
- Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation via social media
- Online sextortion schemes
- Body dysmorphia and disordered eating
- Death by suicide as a result of social media exposure
Social Media in the News in Florida
Recent news stories out of Florida highlight social media’s impact on the state’s children and teenagers. Here are some recent examples:
- The Tampa Bay Times has covered the rise in depression and anxiety in Tampa Bay teenagers following increased time spent on social media platforms during the pandemic.
- A February 2023 University of South Florida article offers suggestions from a psychologist, outlining what state legislators can do to help parents protect teenagers from the negative effects of social media.
- Alleged cyberbullying stemming from a Florida school hockey league led a Florida teenager to death by suicide, according to a New York Post report.
How can Social Media Victims Law Center help?
If the effects of social media harmed your child, contact the Social Media Victims Law Center today for a free case evaluation. We can help you understand Florida’s social media laws, including laws prohibiting cyberbullying. Our goal is to hold social media companies accountable for the harm they cause vulnerable users. We believe social media companies should promote consumer safety in Florida and across the country by designing safer platforms to protect users, especially our children and young adults.
We can accomplish this and prevent future harm to Florida youth through civil litigation. We can bring about change by forcing social media companies to compensate victims for the harm caused by their products. The threat of expensive litigation and compensating victims with future damages incentivizes social media companies to design safer products. In addition, victims will receive the justice and compensation they deserve. Contact us today to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
For individuals and children who have been
We only handle cases on a contingent fee basis. This means that we are paid a portion of any recovery obtained in the case and you do not owe us any attorneys’ fees if the lawsuit does not result in a recovery.
Every case is unique. Our attorneys will work with your family to evaluate your potential case and help you evaluate whether filing a lawsuit or other legal proceeding is in your family’s best interest. Generally speaking, the types of cases we handle involve serious mental health effects, including attempted or completed suicide, eating disorders, inpatient mental health treatment, or sexual trafficking/exploitation that was caused by or contributed to through addictive or problematic social media use by teens and young adults.
We are a law firm based near Seattle, WA comprised of lawyers who have spent their entire careers representing victims who have been harmed by dangerous products. We are also parents. Shocked and troubled by the recent revelations about the harm caused to teens and young adults by social media platforms, which powerful technology companies have designed to be highly addictive, Social Media Victims Law Center was launched specifically to help families and children who have suffered serious mental harm or exploitation through social media use to obtain justice.
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