Lawmakers in Tallahassee move forward with a proposal to remove minors from social media in the state while Gov. Ron DeSantis defends book removal policies. 

Lawmakers advance social media proposal despite concerns from DeSantis

State lawmakers are pushing forward with a bill to ban most minors from social media despite concerns about whether the proposal can withstand a court challenge.

Republican state leaders, led by DeSantis, expressed concern about potential challenges to the proposal this week.

“These things have huge legal hurdles, they’ve been held up in courts," DeSantis said. "I don’t want to go down the road of doing something that is not gonna pass muster legally."

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo joined DeSantis in sharing her concerns.

“I don’t know. I know that’s part of the discussion. I know there’s a lot of discussion, a lot of interest in that bill," she said. "Either way, it has to go back to the house, so we’ll see how that goes."

Despite those concerns, Florida’s social media ban is now one step closer to the governor’s desk.

Republicans in Tallahassee are muscling House Bill 1 closer and closer to the finish line. After a few tweaks, the bill is now up for a final Senate vote. The measure threatens to kick kids in Florida off social media unless they pass an age verification check from a third-party source.

“These platforms are designed to employ features, including addictive algorithms and continuous scrolling, that are intentionally designed and used by the social media platforms in particular to hook kids and keep them on these platforms for an excessive amount of time,” Sen. Erin Grall said of the proposal.

HB 1 would, in theory, bar kids 16 and younger from major social media platforms.

Lawmakers agree that social media may pose risks, but not all agree that this is the best path forward.

“A parent can choose to take a child to an R-rated movie if he or she so chooses, and censorship is not the role of government,” Sen. Geraldine Thompson said.

Notably, HB 1 denies parents any option in giving permission to use the platforms — a provision that critics say violates the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, even some supporters say they would prefer the bill allowed at least some parental control.

“My concern is that the bill replaces the parent in that decision and replaces it with a far-reaching government edict,” Sen. Jay Trumbull said.

DeSantis addresses book removal controversy during Orlando visit 

DeSantis was in Orlando today to defend the state’s policy over controversial books in schools and a parent’s right to their own child’s education.

The governor pushed back against the narrative that the state bans books. Instead, he claims the state gives parents the rights to object to classroom material they deem inappropriate.

DeSantis is calling on lawmakers to tighten up the state’s book laws to prevent people who do not have a student enrolled in a school from calling for certain books to be banned. While state laws are designed to remove obscene material from the classroom, the governor also says some teachers are taking it a step too far and politicizing the issue by banning all books from classrooms.

“I am proud to be able to direct the department of education to take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of a rightful education by politicizing this process," DeSantis said. "If you take a position as a teacher that no books are appropriate because the state is telling you this, first of all that is a lie, second of all you are depriving students of an ability to achieve what we are trying to do, which is to give them a good education."

There is a bill making its way through the legislature that looks to lessen the number of challenges people can make to books. The legislation would allow people to make five objections to books, and every complaint after that would result in a $100 fee.

While many have objected to state policies concerning books and the process for their removal in schools, DeSantis has argued that there are no "book bans" in the state’s public schools. Instead, the governor insists his policies have empowered parents to decide which content their child will be exposed to and enforced Florida laws outlawing "pornography" and inappropriate content in schools. 

“They say Florida doesn’t want books, they’re trying to censor books,” DeSantis said at a news event earlier this year. “Turned out that was a hoax.” 

Under current rules, though, people can challenge whether a book is appropriate for Florida schools, and sometimes the book is immediately pulled from shelves until it can go through a review process. In some cases the book is allowed to stay on the shelf during the review process. 

After the review, the book is either returned to the school library or permanently yanked off school shelves. 

Lawmakers advance proposal to keep kids safer in water

Drowning is a significant danger for kids in Florida year round, and the Florida Department of Children and Families says the state leads the nation in child drownings.

Now, state lawmakers are looking to change that.

Water safety advocates say the proposals being discussed in Tallahassee — like one to create a swim lesson voucher program, called Senate Bill 544 — are a step in the right direction, and they add education is key to fixing the problem.

“Drowning is silent. Yore not hearing. You watch the movies where they scream but that not how it happens. It’s silent. A child fighting for his life is not yelling for his life,” Children’s Safety Village Executive Director Brent Moore said.

Florida DCF data show nearly 100 kids drowned in 2023 — of those, 14 were in Central Florida. Water safety advocates are now calling state legislators to pass safety measures.

“A lot of parents, like I said, don’t have the means to pay for one, let alone two or three children to get swim lessons,” he said.

Several bills are being discussed in Tallahassee to address the issue.

Senate Bill 544 calls for each county to have at least one swim lesson vendor.

Other bills would do things like require parents to inform camps and school if their child cannot swim, or require homeowners to build barriers near pools.

“With something like swimming, you have to be trained.," Moore said. "You need to be taught my somebody who is certified."

Even if legislation isn’t passed, Moore said there are steps everyone can take on their own, like promoting supervision and education at pools, learning CPR, installing a fence and alarms near the pool.

“Get your child skilled, that’s the biggest thing," Moore said. "Get your child into swim lessons."