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