Pics or it didn’t happen. It seems that now, more than ever, people use social media to show friends and followers what amazing things are going on in their lives. Some people use social media to share parenting advice or new recipes. Others use it to show how hilarious their kids are. And many people use social media to share images and videos from their vacations.
Disney-focused social media accounts have exploded in recent years. That has caused things like Disney World’s purple wall and Disneyland’s fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies to go viral.
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Soon, however, many Disney World visitors may find themselves unable to access the social media platforms that they love using.
In March 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education Bill into law. That bill prohibited teachers in grades Kindergarten through 3 from talking about things like gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom. Governor DeSantis said that parents had a right to determine what their children were taught.
The bill soon expanded to cover K-6 and now covers all grades, from Kindergarten through the children’s senior year. And now, it is about to expand into parents’ homes across the state.
On February 22, the Republican-led Florida legislature approved a measure that would ban any teenager under the age of 16 from using nearly every social media platform. This includes sites like Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat. However, critics of the bill have decried how invasive it is — essentially telling parents what their children can and cannot do on the internet.
Proponents of the bill argue that parents cannot keep up with big tech. The bill’s author, Republican State Senator Erin Grall, said:
“There is no ability for informed parental consent because the behemoth that is big tech — and five companies alone, they made over $222 billion in 2022 in revenues. I am challenged to find a parent that can keep up with what the power of that dollar is doing to take their child from them.”
If signed into law by Governor DeSantis, the bill would require social media companies to terminate the accounts of those under 16 in the state. They would also be unable to create new social media accounts for those under 16.
Related: DeSantis’ Disney District to Meet in Secret About Multiple Lawsuits
Florida lawmakers did not name specific companies, but defines them as companies that use “addictive, harmful, or deceptive design features, or any other feature that is designed to cause an account holder to have an excessive or compulsive need to use or engage with the social media platform (such as autoplay or infinite scrolling)”.
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Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill was controversial long before it was signed into law, being nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by its critics. One of the bill’s most outspoken detractors was former Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Chapek spoke out against the bill, saying that Disney would fight to see the legislation overturned.
Chapek’s works sparked a firestorm of controversy that has engulfed the state ever since. The Governor did not like what Disney had to say and passed a law dissolving Walt Disney World’s right to self-govern via the Reedy Creek Improvement Act. The Governor also moved Disney World’s monorail system under state inspection control.
Disney is currently suing the governor for violating its First Amendment Right to free speech. Federal judge Allen Winsor recently dismissed the case, but Disney is appealing the ruling.
Mr. DeSantis has not publicly stated whether or not he supports the social media ban.
Do you think the state should control who can use social media? Let us know in the comments.