Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the country’s most restrictive social media ban for minors on Monday. The bill faces legal opposition on the basis of the First Amendment.  

The bill, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, bars children under age 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have any. Social media companies that violate the law can be fined $50,000, and existing accounts of minors must be deactivated. The legislation was a top priority for Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, a Republican. 

“A child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies and to see the harm and step away from it, and because of that, we have to step in for them,” Renner said at the bill-signing ceremony held at a school in Jacksonville, Florida.

Renner expects social media companies to “sue the second after this is signed.”

“But you know what? We’re going to beat them,” Renner said. “We’re going to beat them, and we’re never, ever going to stop.”

The bill is expected to be challenged on grounds of violating the First Amendment. Federal judges blocked enforcement of similar social media bans for minors in Arkansas and Ohio. 

Khara Boender, a state policy director for the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said in a news release that Florida’s ban is a violation of freedom. 

“This law could create substantial obstacles for young people seeking access to online information, a right afforded to all Americans regardless of age,” Boender said.

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani said in a news release that the bill infringes on parents’ rights. 

“Instead of banning social media access, it would be better to ensure improved parental oversight tools, improved access to data to stop bad actors, alongside major investments in Florida’s mental health systems and programs,” Eskamani said in a statement.

DeSantis signed the legislation a month after vetoing a much more restrictive ban. The previous bill would have banned social media for minors under 16 and required people to submit a photo ID when creating an account.  

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“Ultimately, [we’re] trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids, and so I appreciate the work that’s been put in,” DeSantis said.

Research has shown social media use for more than three hours a day doubles a teenager’s risk of developing depression and anxiety, and nearly a third of teenage users reported being on social media constantly.