TALLAHASSEE — Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.
As XBIZ reported, the final version of HB 3 is a much expanded version of the bill introduced earlier this year by Rep. Chase Tramont, an ordained clergyman who serves as pastor at Oceanway Church in New Smyrna Beach. Tramont’s bill originally only targeted adult websites, but broader regulations about social media were added to it later.
FSC’s statement follows:
This afternoon, Florida Governor DeSantis has signed into law HB 3, an age-verification bill that requires any site with 33.3% “material harmful to minors” to verify the age and identity of every visitor.
The bill also bans minors under the age of 14 from having social media accounts – effectively requiring age-verification of any Floridian with a social media account. The bill goes into effect on January 1, 2025.
Free Speech Coalition opposed HB 3 when it was introduced and will work to fight this deeply unconstitutional bill with our workers, businesses and allies, just as we have with similar bills. We strongly believe that protecting minors online is a worthy goal, but forcing hundreds of millions of adults to sacrifice their anonymity is neither warranted nor justifiable.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking with our members and allies about next steps in Florida and other states. This is not a fight we asked for, but it’s a fight we will win.
For more information, visit FreeSpeechCoalition.com.