Florida’s law goes further than most state-level social media restrictions passed so far. Prior laws in various states focused on new account signups, requiring age verification before a child could create an account. This one applies to existing accounts too, meaning platforms can’t grandfather in users who were already signed up before the law took effect. For a 13-year-old who has had an Instagram account for two years, the law means that account is now subject to Florida’s age rules, not just accounts created going forward.
Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat have updated their age verification systems in Florida to comply with the new requirements. The practical challenge is that age verification online is difficult: platforms generally can’t check a birth certificate, so they rely on self-reported age, credit card data, or third-party services that cross-reference public records. Civil liberties groups filed suit on First Amendment grounds on the day the law took effect, arguing that the age restrictions also limit the speech of minors who have a constitutional right to access information and communicate online.
The legal challenge is likely to take months or years to resolve in the courts. Florida isn’t alone in this direction — several other states have passed or are considering similar restrictions, and Congress has debated federal legislation on the same topic. How courts ultimately rule on Florida’s law will have implications well beyond the state, since a decision finding the law unconstitutional or constitutional would set precedent for the broader national debate.