On October 14, 2026, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 to overturn a preliminary injunction, allowing Florida to enforce House Bill 3. Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2024, the law bars children under 14 from creating social media accounts on platforms utilizing addictive features like infinite scrolling and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The court held HB3 is likely content-neutral and constitutional under intermediate scrutiny.
Appeals court ruling on House Bill 3
- ▪On October 14, 2026, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 to vacate a lower court's preliminary injunction, allowing Florida to enforce its social media law, House Bill 3.
- ▪Following the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on October 14, 2026, the lawsuit challenging House Bill 3 will return to federal court in Tallahassee.
- ▪The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that allowed Florida to enforce House Bill 3 consisted of Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, Judge Robert Luck, and Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat.
First Amendment analysis of the ruling
- ▪The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that House Bill 3 likely satisfies intermediate scrutiny under the First Amendment because it advances an important government interest in protecting minors without burdening substantially more speech than necessary.
- ▪Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom wrote for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that House Bill 3 is a content-neutral speech regulation because it regulates platform features rather than the substance of posted expression.
Legal challenge by tech industry
- ▪Trade groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association sued Florida in 2024, arguing House Bill 3 violated free-speech rights, and NetChoice lawyer Paul Taske stated on October 14, 2026, that the group is evaluating options.
- ▪A federal judge in 2025 granted a preliminary injunction blocking House Bill 3, finding that the law likely violated free-speech protections under the U.S. Constitution.
Age restrictions under House Bill 3
- ▪Florida House Bill 3, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2024, prohibits social media platforms from allowing Florida children under 14 years of age to create or maintain accounts, but permits access using a parent's account.
- ▪Florida House Bill 3 imposes no age-restriction requirements or parental consent rules for individuals who are 16 years of age or older.
- ▪Florida House Bill 3 requires social media platforms to obtain parental consent before allowing 14- and 15-year-old minors to create or maintain accounts.
Platforms covered by House Bill 3
- ▪Florida House Bill 3 applies only to social media platforms that combine algorithmic content selection with addictive features such as infinite scrolling, push notifications, auto-play, livestreaming, or user-engagement metrics.
- ▪Under Florida House Bill 3, a social media platform falls within the law's purview if at least 10% of daily active users under 16 years old spend an average of two hours or more per day on it.
Florida's defense of House Bill 3
- ▪The State of Florida justified House Bill 3 by asserting that platform features overstimulate brain reward centers and contribute to compulsive social media use, sleep problems, attention issues, depression, and anxiety among children.
- ▪Florida contended in court that House Bill 3 regulates product design and account creation rather than speech, arguing the law does not implicate the First Amendment.
Florida's lawsuit against Snap
- ▪On October 14, 2026, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a separate lower court decision blocking Florida's April 2025 enforcement lawsuit against Snapchat owner Snap Inc., directing that the case proceed in state court.
- ▪Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued Snapchat owner Snap Inc. in April 2025, accusing the company of employing addictive features and opening accounts for children aged 13 and younger in violation of House Bill 3.
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