Social Media Use by Minors:
HB 743 revises Florida’s social media law for minors by imposing additional duties on social media platforms when accounts are held by users under 16, with different rules for users under 14 and those age 14 or 15. For minors under 14, platforms must terminate accounts, allow the minor or a parent/guardian to request termination, permanently delete personal information tied to the account within 45 days, let a parent or guardian view the list of account names the minor has messaged, and block access to disappearing or ephemeral messages. For minors age 14 or 15, the bill requires account termination if a parent or guardian has not consented, while also allowing the minor or parent/guardian to request termination, requiring deletion of personal information after termination, permitting parental viewing of message-contact lists, and prohibiting ephemeral messaging access.
The bill also requires platforms, upon valid legal process such as a court order, subpoena, or search warrant, to disclose technically feasible and reasonably available data responsive to a criminal investigation involving a minor’s account. It includes a severability-style fallback provision: if the age-14/15 consent-based subsection is enjoined, a similar set of account-termination, deletion, parental-view, law-enforcement disclosure, and ephemeral-message restrictions would still apply. The act would take effect January 1, 2026, and it amends section 501.1736, Florida Statutes, which governs social media use for minors.
HB 743 would expand and tighten Florida’s existing social media restrictions for minors by adding account termination, data deletion, parental access, and law-enforcement disclosure requirements for platforms. It would affect social media companies operating in Florida, especially their account management, retention, messaging, and compliance procedures for users under 16. The bill would also further define the rights of parents or legal guardians to intervene in or monitor minor accounts and would require platforms to remove personal information after account termination unless retention is legally required.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate tone or member statements. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to reflect a protective, child-safety-oriented approach to online platform regulation, with a focus on parental oversight and data privacy. Its lack of recorded votes and the fact that it died on the Second Reading Calendar suggest it did not advance to final passage, but the provided materials do not indicate whether that was due to policy opposition, procedural timing, or other legislative priorities.
The main points of contention likely center on the bill’s age-based account restrictions, mandatory deletion of personal data, and the requirement that platforms disclose minor-account data to law enforcement under valid legal process. Privacy and free-expression concerns may arise from parental access to message-contact lists and the prohibition on ephemeral messaging, while social media companies may object to the operational burden of account termination and data deletion mandates. The bill’s consent requirement for 14- and 15-year-olds, along with the fallback provision if that subsection is enjoined, suggests the drafters anticipated possible legal challenges, likely around enforceability and constitutional issues.