A new bill is looking to ban children under the age of 16 from social media in Florida.
On Friday, Republican Florida Representative Tyler Sirois introduced House Bill 1.
The proposed bill will require social media platforms to ban minors under 16 years of age in Florida from creating a new account.
It also proposed creating a system to delete of accounts held by those under 16 and give parents the ability to request the minor’s account be terminated.
“The social media industry has a broad impact on today’s youth,” said Sirois in a House Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee last month.
The bill does not single out any specific social media platform.
Sirios believes social media is contributing to bullying, depression and other mental health issues in minors and believes putting an age limit could protect children from inappropriate content.
“As adults I don’t think we are prepared for social media,” shared mom Yolande Macbeth. “For children its too — I don’t want to say — vulgar but it’s really out there for them.”
Macbeth is mother to a 7 year old daughter and she monitors all of the devices she’s allowed to use and said parents should do the same.
House Bill 1 is one of several bills that will be introduced in the Florida Legislative Session.
The session begins on Tuesday, January 9th.