Banning social networks for those under 14, as Florida wants to do, is a good idea, but will be difficult to put into practice, says a digital marketing specialist.
• Read also: Florida bans social media for children under 14
“I think it’s a good initiative, it’s a good idea,” said Frédéric Gonzalo, digital marketing specialist, in an interview on LCN on Wednesday morning.
The expert believes that the bill will however be “difficult to put into practice” since you must already be 13 years old and over to open an account, but you only need to lie about your date of birth to have access.
“When you put a cell phone in the hands of a 9, 10 year old child (…) somewhere we don’t help ourselves either,” he stressed to Mario Dumont.
If the state of Florida wants to force social networks to destroy the accounts of those under the age of 14, this practice will be “marginal”. “How do you (remove them) if everyone has already cheated from the start?” he asked himself.
Mr. Gonzalo believes that “more restrictive” mechanisms are needed than that of the minimum age or parental consent.
“In some places, you have to enter a credit card, a payment method,” he gave as an example of restricting the number of young people who want to use social networks.
Remember that on Monday Florida adopted a law prohibiting young people aged 14 and under from having accounts on social networks. This should come into force on January 1. The text also provides that young people aged 14 and 15 will have to obtain parental permission to have the right to have an account on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, for example.
The state also expects its law to be challenged by social media companies and in the name of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution protecting freedom of expression.
