Florida attorney general proposes bill that limits social media, AI features for teens in the state - Reuters

The attorney general of Florida has proposed legislation that would limit social media and artificial-intelligence features for teenagers in the state, Reuters reported. The proposal, described in the report as an act, would dictate changes for app stores, social media companies and AI chatbots. It was announced days after Florida lost its bid for a court order forcing Meta to overhaul Instagram and Facebook for teenage users.

The measure is a proposal from the attorney general's office rather than an enacted law or a filed bill: according to the report, the act would still need to be introduced by a legislator before it could proceed. Reuters did not, in the excerpt, set out the bill's provisions, the ages it would cover, the obligations it would place on app stores and chatbot operators, or the penalties for non-compliance. The categories named as targets were app stores, social media companies and AI chatbots.

The proposal follows Florida's unsuccessful attempt to obtain a court order requiring Meta to make changes to Instagram and Facebook as used by teenagers. Reuters characterised the legislation as coming days after that loss, and reported that it would address app stores and AI chatbots as well as social media platforms. The report did not name any chatbot developer or app store operator that would be affected. Whether the act is taken up depends on a legislator agreeing to introduce it; no timeline for introduction was given in the report.