Florida AG: Renews Meta Teen Social Media Injunction Demand

• Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has requested a state court to issue a temporary injunction limiting minors' access to Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms.
• The state argues Meta is violating Florida's 2024 "online child protections law," which bans social media for children under 14 and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds.
• Florida seeks specific measures including faster removal of young users, elimination of "addictive features," a two-hour screen time limit, and an end to late-night notifications.
• Florida notably declined to join a recent multi-state settlement with Meta, with AG Uthmeier calling it insufficient for Florida's children.
• This action is part of a broader pattern of aggressive enforcement by Florida against social media companies regarding minor access and safety, including previous lawsuits against Snapchat, TikTok, and Roblox.

This aggressive legal maneuver underscores Florida's distinct and unyielding approach to regulating social media platforms, particularly concerning their impact on young users, diverging significantly from broader national settlements.

Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier has renewed his office's demands for Meta to address the alleged harm its social media platforms inflict on children, seeking a state court injunction to immediately restrict minors' access to Facebook and Instagram. This action, filed on a Wednesday, asserts that Meta continues to disregard Florida's 2024 "online child protections law," which prohibits social media accounts for children under 14 and mandates parental consent for those aged 14 and 15.

The state's motion outlines several specific demands aimed at curbing the platforms' impact on young users. These include a faster process for removing the youngest Florida users from the platforms and the elimination of certain "addictive features," such as "like counts." Furthermore, the Attorney General is pushing for a two-hour daily screen time limit for teens, an end to late-night notifications, and measures to prevent "infinite scrolling" within the applications.

This latest filing builds upon an initial lawsuit Florida launched against Meta in 2024. That earlier legal action contended that the social media giant had misled parents regarding the inherent dangers of its platforms, thereby violating the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The current injunction request underscores Florida's commitment to enforcing its unique online child protections law against major tech companies.

Florida notably chose not to participate in a significant multi-state settlement reached in August with Meta, which involved 47 states and Washington D.C. This landmark agreement addressed claims that Meta intentionally designed its apps to be addictive for children and included provisions for potential civil penalties up to $17.1 billion. The settlement also stipulated time caps, limits on notifications, and restrictions on access between midnight and 6 a.m.

Attorney General Uthmeier publicly criticized the multi-state settlement, describing it as a "slap on the wrist" that, given Meta's "massive profits," failed to adequately protect children within Florida. He emphasized that since Meta itself had presented such changes as the "new industry standard," children in Florida should not be left behind. Meta did not provide an immediate response to the request for comment regarding Florida's new filing.

This aggressive legal maneuver underscores Florida's distinct and unyielding approach to regulating social media platforms, particularly concerning their impact on young users, diverging significantly from broader national settlements.

The 2024 "online child protections law" forms the bedrock of Florida's current legal strategy, establishing strict age-based restrictions on social media access. While Florida pursues its independent course, Meta's Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney, in a statement released after the multi-state settlement, advocated for an industry-wide solution. Mahoney expressed pride in Meta's historical efforts to protect children and the new agreement, but stressed that its success hinged on other social media platforms adopting similar measures.

Florida's actions highlight a growing tension between state-specific regulations and broader industry or multi-state agreements. The state's insistence on its own stringent measures, rather than aligning with a more generalized settlement, signals a proactive and distinct legal posture regarding online child protections and social media addiction minors litigation.

The current legal action against Meta is consistent with a broader pattern of aggressive enforcement by Florida's Attorney General against social media companies concerning children's online safety. Uthmeier has been a vocal defender of the 2024 state law banning social media accounts for children under 14, actively pursuing litigation against various platforms.

In April, the Attorney General initiated a lawsuit against Snapchat, alleging violations of the same online child protections law. Just two months later, his office filed suit against TikTok. Last year, Uthmeier also targeted Roblox, citing insufficient age verification controls that allowed children to access adult content and facilitated contact between adults and minors. These repeated legal challenges demonstrate Florida's sustained commitment to holding tech companies accountable for their platforms' effects on young users.

This action highlights Florida's aggressive and distinct legal stance against social media platforms regarding minor access and addictive features, diverging from broader multi-state settlements. Compliance officers and legal counsel for tech companies must monitor Florida's specific enforcement actions and the implications of its 'online child protections law' as it could influence future regulations or litigation in other jurisdictions.

Source: Original reporting via CN