Despite facing continued criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, Florida House Bill 1, which would ban minors under the age of 16 from accessing social media, is headed for Governor Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) desk after passing the Florida House. Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) issued an inflammatory message after the bill's passing, calling it "a blatant and disturbing continued march towards authoritarianism in the state of Florida."
Additionally, Rep. Frost accused Republicans of hypocrisy due to their emphasis on parental rights, contradicting the tenets of HB1.
"The Republican-led State Legislature, the so-called defenders of parental rights, have proven that they are hypocrites who care more about having ultimate control over the children of Florida than they do about protecting their rights," Rep. Frost said, further condemning the bill as "not only lazy legislating but a brazenly unconstitutional move."
Frost has been a ferocious critic of Florida Republicans since taking office in 2022, calling Gov. DeSantis a "fascist" last February and further suggesting DeSantis was "abusing his power" with the aid of Republicans he dismissed as "lapdogs" the following March.
In June, the Gen-Z Congressman further labeled Florida as a "fascist state" under DeSantis's leadership after the Governor removed State Attorney Andrew Warren and repeated the "fascism" accusation in August after the removal of Monique Worrell.
However, DeSantis himself recently expressed concern about HB1's validity, saying at a press conference in Lake Buena Vista that the bill has "legitimate issues that [have] got to be worked out," and demanded a greater emphasis on parental rights in order to protect their children from the harms of social media.
"And so we cannot say 100% of the uses are bad because it is not, and I am a critic of social media, but I have to look at this from a parent's perspective. So we are working through those, [but] I do not think it is there yet. Hopefully, we will be able to get there in a way that, I think, answers the concerns that a lot of folks have because I do think parents are concerned about social media and what goes on there. And I do think that they think it is a problem but I also think that for people that are in high school, it is not as simple. I think you have got to have some parental involvement," argued DeSantis.
