Meta Agrees to Enforce Florida Ban on Social Media Accounts for Children 13 and Under

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says Meta will begin removing social media accounts belonging to users under age 14 in Florida starting in early May, complying with a 2024 state law that took effect in March after two years of litigation. The statute, passed with bipartisan support and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, flatly bans social media accounts for children 13 and younger and requires parental consent for 15‑year‑olds, with civil penalties of $50,000 per violation that Uthmeier warns could add up to billions of dollars for non‑compliant companies. Uthmeier told Fox News the state will now actively enforce the law, pledging to seek "heavy damages" and injunctive relief against platforms that fail to identify and purge underage accounts, and he publicly urged Snapchat, Roblox, Discord and TikTok to follow Meta’s lead. State officials justify the crackdown by citing online predators, rising youth suicide and mental‑health concerns linked to social media use, while critics and some online commentators question how accurately platforms can verify age and worry about overreach and data‑collection trade‑offs. Hundreds of thousands of Florida accounts are expected to be suspended in May, making this one of the first large‑scale tests of strict age‑based social‑media restrictions in the U.S. and a potential template for other states considering similar laws.