Florida’s social media bill for minors asks these platforms to do the impossible
The legislation eventually ended the treatment of the internet as a utility except in certain states like California, Washington, and Oregon where local legislation has allowed the Internet to have net neutrality protections. Another misleading title is Florida’s SB 868/HB 743, with the title “Social Media Use By Minors.” The goal of this bill is to end any privacy protections you might have on certain social media apps and websites.
The bill would force social media platforms that allow minors to open an account and post messages to give the parents of these minors access to read all messages posted by their children. It also would prevent minors from reading messages that are set to self-destruct or disappear. This seems to be a question of whether you trust your kids, how old they are, and their personalities.
But despite the name of the bill, the main reason why it was written has to do with something else entirely. The bill would force social media platforms to give law enforcement a method to “decrypt end-to-end encryption” when a subpoena is obtained. In other words, the “Social Media Use By Minors” bill is all about giving law enforcement back door access to these platforms.
On April 1st, the bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with a favorable vote (9 Yeas, 2 Nays). The bill heads to the Rules Committee where it is on the agenda for this Wednesday, April 16th.
