Social networks may be banned in Florida schools if a recently filed amendment passes Florida Legislature and gets signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Earlier this week, Florida State Representative Brad Yeager filed an amendment that would require Florida schools to block students from accessing social media sites through the use of internet access provided by a school district. The legislation also seeks to implement social media safety education in grades 6 through 12.
If the amendment passes, it would take effect in July of this year, and each school district in Florida would be required by law to install a firewall on school Wi-Fi systems to prevent students from accessing popular social media platforms while using the network.
The amendment’s language reads:Section 1006.1494, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 1006.1494 Prohibiting student access to social media platforms.—Each school district must prohibit and prevent students from accessing social media platforms through the use of Internet access provided by the school district.
Multiple states, including North Carolina and Mississippi, have recently passed laws that ban use of the social network TikTok on government internet networks. At the federal level, senators have proposed bills to ban downloading or using TikTok on the devices of federal government employees Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the No TikTok on the United States Devices Act
“TikTok is a clear threat to our privacy and national security. Not only is TikTok directly associated with the Chinese Communist Party, but it has been used to spy on Americans and gain an alarming level of access to users’ phones. This should concern every citizen who values their privacy, security, and personal information. Banning CCP tied TikTok nationwide is the only route to ending this malicious cybersecurity threat,” said Representative Buck. “I am proud to introduce this legislation alongside Sen. Josh Hawley to ensure that every Americans’ privacy and security is protected from hostile foreign entities.”
Since 2004, O’Hern has worked with political campaigns in roles ranging from major projects involving nationwide digital marketing for U.S. Presidential candidates, U.S. Congressmen, state governors, and state representatives. O’Hern’s journalism background includes news reporting and editing for various organizations and news publications in Alabama and Florida since 2002. O’Hern graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science.