There's a new bill to ban some minors from social media. And the governor is on board 

Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed what would have been one of the most far-reaching social media bans for minors on Friday, and lawmakers are proposing new language that seeks to keep children under 14 off addictive platforms.

The bill (HB 1) sent to the governor last week would have banned minors under 16 from popular social media platforms regardless of parental consent.

DeSantis had concerns about privacy issues and parental rights, but appears to be on board with a new proposal that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds on social media with parental consent and ban access for younger children.

The new proposal also removed age-verification requirements that were in the original bill.

“The Legislature is about to produce a different, superior bill,” DeSantis said in his veto message. “Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents' rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech.”

He said he anticipates signing the new bill, which will go before the Senate on Monday, just days before the legislative session ends March 8.

Lawmakers were expecting the veto, and Republican House Speaker Paul Renner worked with DeSantis on the compromise.

Before the veto, the Senate on Friday made a procedural move that will allow it to amended the new proposal onto another bill (HB 3) that had been in a committee. The move involved withdrawing the related bill from the committee.

After the bill’s expected approval by the Senate, it would need to go to the House for a final vote.

The issue is a top priority for Renner, who believes social media is causing psychological damage to children.

“My personal view is we ought to go to 18. It is bad. It is poison,” Renner said. “Their business model is addiction that causes harm to children for profit. That's not good.”

But Renner expressed optimism after the veto and said the new proposal is an improvement and will have broader public support. He also said the change should better withstand expected First Amendment challenges.

“It's a good product of compromise," he said. “It will have a better chance of getting through the courts.”

As an example, the age-verification requirements in HB1 would have affected adults creating accounts. Renner said the revised plan would seek to ensure compliance with the age limits by opening social media platforms to lawsuits for violations. That would include lawsuits filed by the state attorney general and lawsuits filed on behalf of minors.

Supporters hope the bill will withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and autoplay videos, rather than on the content on sites.

The tech-industry group NetChoice praised the’ veto but quickly signaled that the revised plan likely would face a court challenge. It cited a court ruling that blocked similar restrictions passed in Ohio.

“To verify that a minor is under 16 and that the adult verifying is actually that minor’s parent or guardian, that will in effect require social media companies to verify identities,” Carl Szabo, NetChoice’s vice president and general counsel, said in a prepared statement. “This is the same unconstitutional idea as Ohio had, and a federal judge has already granted NetChoice an injunction against that law. Courts across the country have been shooting down these types of laws as unconstitutional.”

Several states have considered similar legislation. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.