Newsom and DeSantis agree on social media limits for kids
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, despite often being at odds, have recently found common ground on the topic of regulating children’s use of social media. Both governors agree that social media can be harmful to young users. In response, DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for users aged 14 and 15. Similarly, Newsom signed a law in 2019 allowing California school districts to restrict or ban the use of smartphones in schools. These actions show a rare bipartisan approach towards addressing the issue of social media usage among children, emphasized by California Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover who noted the importance of bipartisan unity to protect youths in an otherwise partisan political climate.
Florida’s Republican governor and California’s Democratic governor rarely find common ground, but they may have found their bipartisan commonplace: social media restrictions for children.
Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gavin Newsom (D-CA) have agreed in recent weeks that social media poses some inherent harm to children and should be restricted. The agreement likely won’t push away the pair’s feud, but it “underscores the scope of this problem,” according to California Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover.
“In today’s hyperpartisan age, where we see just these hyperpartisan battles between governors and legislatures and politicians, I think it’s really encouraging to see an area where we can actually come together as leaders — regardless of party, and work on something to help our kids,” Hoover told Politico.
Last year, DeSantis signed a law that prohibited minors under 14 from having social media accounts and restricted children aged 14 and 15 by requiring their accounts to have parental consent. In 2019, Newsom signed a law that gave California school districts the authority to limit or outright ban smartphones from being used by children during the day.
While California’s law came four years before Florida’s, a DeSantis spokesman said, “Keep copying Florida, California!”
Following Monday’s announcement from the surgeon general that social media should be given a tobacco-like warning about the harms it could inflict on children, Newsom reignited his push for school districts to use his 2019 legislation.
This week, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, voted to ban the use of cellphones, to take effect in the spring semester of the 2024-2025 school year.
“I think a school district would be totally within their rights to say, ‘You know what, leave your phone in some cubby or something, go sit in class and learn, and if you get it at recess and you want to text people, fine,’” DeSantis said last year. “But they should not be on their phones being distracted from the lessons.”
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Each Florida district has been taking a different approach. In one Florida district, students are allowed to use their phones during the lunch period. Another has a “bell to bell” policy, in which phones are put away the entire day. Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez said the “bell to bell” policy allows for more interpersonal conversation.
“We started to see young people more engaged with their peers and adults,” Vazquez said.
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