Senate Bill 868 amends Florida’s social media law for minors by adding new obligations for social media platforms that host accounts for users under 16. The bill requires platforms to terminate accounts for users under 14, and for users age 14 or 15 unless a parent or guardian consents, while also allowing the minor or a confirmed parent/guardian to request account termination. In all covered cases, the platform must delete personal information tied to the terminated account unless retention is legally required.
The bill also adds several access and messaging restrictions for minor accounts. Platforms must provide a mechanism to decrypt end-to-end encrypted or otherwise inaccessible messages when law enforcement has a warrant or subpoena and the messages are relevant to a criminal investigation involving a minor. In addition, platforms must allow a parent or legal guardian to view all messages on a minor’s account, and must prohibit minors from using disappearing, self-destructing, or ephemeral messages. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill would expand section 501.1736, Florida Statutes, by imposing new compliance duties on social media platforms operating in Florida, especially with respect to account termination, data deletion, parental access, and message accessibility for minors. It would affect platform design and moderation practices, encryption features, and account-management systems, and it could require changes to privacy controls and law-enforcement response procedures. The bill also creates a fallback severability structure if the 14- and 15-year-old consent provisions are enjoined, preserving the rest of the law’s requirements.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad legislative support overall, advancing through multiple committees with favorable votes and passing the Senate 34-3 on third reading. The vote pattern suggests general agreement with the bill’s child-safety and parental-control goals, while the small number of dissenting votes indicates some continuing concern about the scope or enforceability of the restrictions. No committee transcript was provided, so the available record reflects support primarily through the voting history rather than detailed debate.
Contention
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s intrusion into platform encryption and private messaging, the requirement that parents be allowed to view all messages, and the ban on ephemeral or disappearing messages for minors. Privacy advocates and technology companies may object to the decryption mandate and parental-access provisions as overbroad or difficult to implement, while supporters likely view them as necessary for child safety and law-enforcement access. The age-based account termination rules for users under 14 and for 14- and 15-year-olds without parental consent may also be disputed as burdensome or potentially overinclusive.