Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association has sent a letter in opposition to Florida HB 1, which mandates age verification for online users, ahead of the Florida Senate’s floor vote on the bill.
While CCIA firmly supports enhanced online protections for children and teens, it is concerned with the provisions in HB 1 and believes the bill will not achieve its stated objectives without severe unintended consequences. The legislation restricts access to the internet for users under 16, which impedes younger user’s First Amendment right to access information – including access to supportive communities. Similar provisions have faced legal challenges in other jurisdictions and judges recently put the laws on hold due to these First Amendment concerns. Further, the bill’s obligation for companies to collect additional information associated with age verification is likely to conflict with other data minimization principles and put younger users’ privacy at risk as companies would need to collect more sensitive personal data.
The following can be attributed to CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender:
“Although CCIA shares the concerns of lawmakers regarding the safety of children and teens online, HB 1 is not adequately tailored to this objective. It puts young Floridians at risk by restricting their First Amendment right to access information and forcing companies to collect additional sensitive data on internet users. We encourage Florida lawmakers to resist following the path of other states in enacting a law with significant constitutional concerns that risks facing similar legal challenges.”