Florida’s controversial “Social Media Use by Minors” bill, which among other things sought to mandate encryption backdoors in social media platforms, has failed to pass into law. The legislation, known as SB 868/HB 743, was indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration in the Florida House of Representatives earlier this week, despite having previously passed the Senate with a 34–3 vote.
What Was The Bill About?
The bill aimed to require social media companies to provide mechanisms for decrypting end-to-end encrypted communications when presented with a subpoena. It also sought to grant parents full access to their children’s messages and prohibit minors from using features like disappearing messages.
Privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts strongly opposed the bill. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) criticized it as a “wrecking ball to privacy,” arguing that introducing backdoors would compromise the security of all users, not just minors. Virtru, a data security firm, likened encryption backdoors to “installing a master key for a building’s security system,” emphasizing the inherent risks.
Critics also highlighted that the bill’s provisions could lead platforms to eliminate end-to-end encryption for minors entirely, potentially making young users more vulnerable online. Additionally, the bill’s requirement for parental access to messages raised concerns about violating Florida’s own two-party consent laws for surveillance.
Supporters of the legislation, including some lawmakers and law enforcement officials, asserted that the bills were necessary to protect minors from online predators and to provide parents with tools to monitor their children’s online activities.
The failure of the bill marks a significant victory for the digital privacy advocates. As the legislative session concluded without the bill’s passage, attention now turns to ongoing debates about balancing child safety with the preservation of online privacy and security for everyone.
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