Gov. Ron DeSanits signs Senate Bill 184. [Photo courtesy of the Executive Office of Governor Ron DeSantis]

OKEECHOBEE- On Jan. 1, a slew of new laws are going into effect in the state of Florida, including a law restricting the access of social media sites for children under the age of 13. 

The law, House Bill 3, was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2024. It bans social media accounts for children 13 and younger and requires parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds. It also requires social media companies to terminate any account of an account holder younger than 14 years of age and provide 90 days to dispute the termination. 

Social media companies will also be required to permanently delete all information related to these terminated accounts unless "there are legal requirements to maintain such information." 

How exactly will the enforcement of the law work if there are children under the age of 13 on a social media site? The law states that “knowing or reckless” violations could lead to the attorney general’s office filing lawsuits against platforms. Social media sites could also face lawsuits filed on behalf of minors.  According to the law, the attorney general’s office will “not find willful disregard of a person’s age has occurred if a social media platform establishes it has utilized a reasonable age verification method.” 

Parents will have the option to consent for their 14- and 15-year-old children to have access to social-media platforms though what the bill describes as “reasonable parental verification”. The law defines the reasonable parental verification as “any method that is reasonably calculated at determining that a person is a parent of a child that also verifies the age and identity of that parent by commercially reasonable means.” 

That could see social media sites requesting from children the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of parents and then contacting the people whose names were provided by the children to seek information and confirmation. The bill reads that any reasonable method regularly used by the government or business to verify parents’ identities and ages may be utilized. 

The law was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, however a lawsuit was filed against the bill on grounds that it violates the first amendment. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has asked the United States Supreme Court to issue a stay of the lawsuit, which will allow the law to go into effect. 

Other laws that go into effect in 2025: 

• Public camping and public sleeping 

A new Florida law goes into effect in 2025 that prohibits counties and municipalities from allowing public sleeping or public camping on public property, such as sidewalks. The bill allows a resident, local business owner or the Florida Attorney General to bring a civil action against a county or municipality for allowing unlawful sleeping or camping on public property.   

Okeechobee County passed an ordinance banning sleeping or camping in county parks in October 2024 in advance of the law. 

• Tracking devices 

A new law that went into effect back in October allows law enforcement to go after criminals who unlawfully track other individuals by expanding the scope of prohibited conduct to capture those individuals by placing Apple AirTags or similar devices in people’s cars, purses, or anywhere else on their property. 

Additionally, the bill increases the penalty for a violation from a second-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. Parents, caregivers and law enforcement are still able to use tracking devices for lawful purposes. 

• Impeding, threatening, or harassing first responders 

Senate Bill 184 makes it unlawful for a person, after receiving a verbal warning from a first responder, to violate the warning or remain within 25 feet with the intent to impede or interfere with the first responder’s ability to perform such duty, threaten the first responder with physical harm, or harass the first responder. 

• Protection of specified adults from financial scams  

Senate Bill 556 is designed to provide additional protections for vulnerable adults or adults 65 years or older who may be victims of suspected financial exploitation. It will allow banks to delay completing certain transactions if there is a belief of potential fraud. It will allow banks to delay distributing money if employees think seniors or vulnerable adults are getting financially exploited. The bill also gives banks legal immunity if they act in “good faith” in delaying a payment.