Mere curiosity will this ban impact Chief Delphi?
If I have placed this topic in the wrong category please move it.
Please be respectful of each other discussing this, I do not wish this to turn into a circus no one is proud of.
This appears to be the bill in question:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/1
Personally I consider CD an internet forum for the purposes of education.
From the linked article:
The bill targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others, and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use.
Emphasis mine on the word “and”.
Without going into the literal letter of the (proposed) law (and assuming the AP did there due diligence with the language they used) then CD is fine. As far as I know there are no “targeting algorithms” on CD.
Now , I am assuming a LOT based on the language in the reporting and it really comes down to definitions. If things are not well defined in the bill — even if it passes — it could be a bit of a nothing burger.
Enforcement is another matter (although there are a lot of instances where one may sign a document or make an affidavit that they followed the law to the best of their knowledge, which could muddy the waters)
Edit:
I am less confident about the AP summary once I looked at the bill itself and definition of social media, note the use of the word “any” (if this gets signed into law I would expect immediate court cases so…):
They could go the way of copyright enforcement. If someone sees a supposed copyright infringement they can report it and they get a fee (reward?) if it pans out. Our church services on YouTube or Facebook have been blocked because some bot decided that the video or audio was an infringement. We only use open free sources of audio and video. The pastor challenges the block, and then a few days later it is restored.
OK, that was a bit long semi-related topic. But if somehow they make it profitable for someone to report social media infringements, there will be lots of reporting.
Looking at the bill, it does seem that CD would fit under the definition of this bill. However, are they subject to the jurisdiction of Florida law? As far as I know, CD is hosted on a Linode server, and they do have a server location in Florida but I assume CD uses the Texas servers. Where it gets tricky is that the precedent on this could classify CD as an “interactive” website that would be subject to other states’ laws, but I also wouldn’t say it “does business” anywhere, being a site that doesn’t sell anything or serve any ads.
Update: Ron DeSantis signs Florida social media ban for children into law | Florida | The Guardian
Once it takes effect, the bill signed on Monday bans social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.
It takes effect on 1 January
Still subject to legal challenges I’m sure, but this is less restricted than what was originally envisioned. This is a compromise version of the original bill
The bill DeSantis vetoed would have banned minors under 16 from popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent
