Report from the Orlando Sentinel
In Brief – A unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled Florida’s law restricting minors’ social media accounts is likely constitutional and is allowing enforcement during remaining litigation. The court determined that the legislation appropriately faced intermediate First Amendment scrutiny and would likely survive because it limits speech in a content-neutral manner and narrowly targets platforms with addictive features. The 2024 law prohibits children under 14 from creating accounts on covered platforms and requires parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.
Context – Critics have argued for years that social media platforms are dangerous, harmful and addictive, especially for teens. Despite mixed evidence, age-based restrictions are taking off around the world. Australia’s blanket 16-year-old limit has had limited effects and France’s 15-year-old limit was recently overturned by its constitutional court for violating the free speech of teens. The European Commission is moving forward on a more complex multi-tiered age-based regulatory regime for digital services. In the US, several states have passed laws with age-based social media regulations. Initially, most were blocked by federal judges applying “strict” First Amendment reviews. However, soon after the US Supreme Court’s ruling in 2025 allowing age checks for porn sites to be judged under “intermediate scrutiny”, federal appeals courts have delivered mixed verdicts, upholding some laws. The first came from the 5th Circuit allowing a Mississippi law to stand during litigation. The Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal, but Justice Kavanaugh issued a concurring opinion summarizing why so many social media laws had been blocked and why he suspected Mississippi’s would eventually be struck down. The issue seems destined for review by the Supreme Court. While the precedents backing the First Amendment rights of minors seem clear, for example to Justice Kavanaugh, the justices have been consistently squirrely on internet cases.