Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association issued the following statement in response to Florida’s House passing its social media ban for users under 16 and age verification bill.
CCIA had filed comments earlier this month on Florida’s HB 1, which would require age verification for all online users and ban all users under the age of 16 from accessing social media. Online businesses already comply with rules at the federal level that currently regulate how to address users under 13, and HB 1 raises significant constitutional concerns regarding First Amendment protections to access open information.
The following can be attributed to CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender:
“Legislation like this violates federal law and positions the government to block access to legal information online – a Constitutional right even younger users do have. It would also lead to online companies needing to collect additional personal data on users to show compliance at a time when companies are taking steps to collect less data. CCIA supports families’ deciding together on what online material is appropriate, and online businesses offer dozens of tools to set up their own filters rather than have governments making this decision for them.”