WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — As he seeks reelection in two weeks, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a series of legislative proposals Thursday aimed at limiting children’s social media use, strengthening online safety protections and holding technology companies accountable for violations.
Speaking at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Uthmeier outlined the proposed Safe Screens Act, which would expand age-verification requirements, limit minors’ social media use and impose penalties on technology companies that fail to comply with the proposed restrictions.
One of the key provisions would limit minors to two hours of social media use per day. The proposal would also require social media accounts belonging to minors to be shut down between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless parents choose to enable access.
Uthmeier also wants companies to disable appearance-altering filters and prevent teenagers’ accounts from being recommended to other users. The proposals would require companies to turn off certain addictive features by default, including infinite scrolling and push notifications.
The plan is also aimed at targeting online predators. Uthmeier wants social media companies to conduct human reviews within 48 hours of reports involving suspected predators, solicitation or exploitation. He is also proposing a one-strike ban for adults found soliciting minors for sexually explicit material.
The legislation would extend age-verification requirements to app stores and device makers, with parental consent required before minors could download age-restricted software. Companies that violate the proposed requirements could face penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, Uthmeier said.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd voiced support for stronger protections for children online.
“You’re not protecting the children; you’re creating an environment that encourages child sex predators, deviants to come after our children,” Judd said.
Hillary Thorn, a Lakeland mother who homeschools her teenage and preteen children, said keeping her children safe online is a top priority.
“This technology is changing faster than we can figure it out, and they are going to have so many opportunities to be victims if we aren’t diligent,” Thorn said.
Thorn said parents need technology companies to take greater responsibility for protecting young users.
“There’s only so much that we can do, and without having those guard rails at the social media companies level, it’s really hard for us to do our jobs effectively as parents when they are targeting our children,” she said.
The announcement comes as Florida continues separate litigation against major tech companies, including Meta and OpenAI. Florida opted out of a reported $13 billion multistate settlement with Meta to pursue its own legal action and potentially greater damages.
Jose Javier Rodriguez, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, criticized Uthmeier’s handling of the Meta settlement while expressing support for protecting children online.
“Protecting our children online should never be a partisan issue,” Rodriguez said in a statement. "But James Uthmeier is already Attorney General, and he has the power to hold Big Tech accountable. Instead, he rejected a bipartisan nationwide settlement with Meta that would have delivered stronger protections for children. He should explain why he walked away from those protections before asking Floridians to take another set of proposals seriously."
The proposed restrictions would require legislative action before becoming law.
Share Your Story with Rebecca
Rebecca Petit is dedicated to telling your stories from every corner of Polk County. She knows how growth has been a major discussion point for the area, and the impact it’s had on some of our most vulnerable populations. You can connect with Rebecca by using the form below.
.
Pasco County mom of 5 takes in 3 children left without food or power whose mother faces neglect charges
Jasmine Young, a mother of 5, opened her home to three neglected girls as their mother faces child neglect charges for leaving them without food, power or water.
