Florida can enforce law barring young kids from social media, appeals court rules
SNAP•A unanimous 11th Circuit panel allowed Florida to enforce a law barring children under 14 from creating accounts on social media platforms with features such as autoplay and infinite scroll. The court also vacated a separate ruling blocking Florida’s case against Snap and said that case should proceed in state court.
1. Appeals court ruling
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of Florida’s H.B. 3. The panel said the law does not regulate content hosted by social media platforms and therefore does not violate First Amendment protections.
2. Snap case proceeds
The law bars platforms with features deemed addictive from allowing children under 14 to create accounts. After the law took effect, Florida sued Snap Inc, alleging it used addictive features and opened accounts for children aged 13 and younger. The appeals court vacated a lower court decision in that case and said it should move forward in state court.
