Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signs controversial bill to ban social media for children under 14

 Florida would have one of the nation's most restrictive social media bans for minors under a bill signed Monday by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — if it withstands expected legal challenges.

The bill would ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15 and 16-year-olds. It was slightly weakened by a proposal vetoed by DeSantis earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended.

The new legislation was Republican Speaker Paul Reiner's top legislative priority. This will be effective from January 1.

Florida Senate passes bill to ban social media for children under 16

The bill vetoed by DeSantis would have banned minors under the age of 16 from using popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent. But before the veto, he worked with Renner on compromise language to ease the governor's concerns and the Legislature sent a second bill to DeSantis.

Several states have considered similar legislation. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August halted enforcement of a law that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

Supporters in Florida expect the bill to face legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on their addictive features like notification alerts and auto-play videos, rather than their content.