Attorney General James Uthmeier Proposes the Safe Screens Act to Protect Minors on App Stores, Social Media Platforms, and AI Chatbots

Courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General James Uthmeier proposed the Safe Screens Act, legislation that requires age determination and parental consent before minors download or buy apps, imposes protective design defaults on social media accounts for ages 14-17, and bars AI chatbots from providing minors features that simulate companionship, encourage harm, generate sexual content, or claim to be human.

"Parents deserve real control, and companies must design for safety, not addiction," said Attorney General James Uthmeier. "Florida already prohibits social media accounts for anyone under 14, and the Eleventh Circuit just upheld that law. The Safe Screens Act goes further. If you invite Florida's children onto your platform, you have a duty to keep them safe."

"Attorney General James Uthmeier is a visionary when it comes to protecting children in Florida," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "He steadfastly keeps their safety and security as a top priority. It takes the power and determination of an Attorney General to keep large social media and gaming companies from exploiting and endangering our children. They need to do the right thing, and James Uthmeier is going to make sure they do."

"As a former prosecutor, current college president, and a proud father, the safety and security of our students will always be my top priority," said Polk State College President Anastasios Camoutsas.

App stores still let minors download apps with weak age checks. AI chatbot operators and platforms do not consistently determine the age of the account holder. Default settings for teens 14 to 17 maximize engagement through infinite scroll, public "like" counts, late-night access, and cosmetic filters that fuel body-image problems. AI chatbots simulate companionship that encourages isolation, generate sexual content, and claim to be human. These kinds of designs that target and knowingly harm children and teens must stop.

The Safe Screens Act would:

1. Require age determination and parental consent. App stores and similar marketplaces must determine the user's age, link minors to a parent's account, and obtain parental consent before a minor downloads or buys an app from a covered platform. AI chatbot operators and platforms must determine account holder's age. Operating systems must apply age-appropriate restrictions at the device level based on the user's age. All age determination must use commercially reasonable, privacy-protective methods.
2. Set protective design defaults for social media accounts ages 14 to 17.
   Quiet mode must block access from 11 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. year-round, plus 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on academic-year weekdays. Muting notifications is not enough. Platforms must hide like, comment, and reaction counts by default; only a verified parent may enable them, with a 30-day opt-out prompt. Cosmetic-procedure filters are disabled. Use is limited to 2 hours daily and 60 hours monthly, including messaging and long-form content, with pauses at 60 and 90 minutes and notice every 15 minutes. Autoplay and infinite scroll are off by default with parent-only enablement. There are prompts for a non-personalized feed every 3 days that teens cannot dismiss. Platforms may not recommend teen accounts to unconnected adults or allow messaging from those adults. Child sexual exploitation reports receive human review within 48 hours, with a one-strike rule for adult offenders.
3. Protect all minors from harmful AI chatbot features.
   Chatbot operators may not provide minors features that simulate companionship through personification, emotional engagement, user-data retention, unsupervised therapy, sexual content, or other deceptive features; encourage self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or illegal activity; generate, describe, or facilitate sexually explicit conduct; suggest the chatbot is a real human; prioritize validation or engagement over user safety or guardrails; or encourage isolation or discourage help from appropriate adults.
4. Provide strong, uniform enforcement.
   Knowing or reckless violations are unfair practices under section 501.1736, Florida Statutes. Up to $50,000 per violation. The Attorney General's Office may stop violations, seek damages, impose fines, and maintain a public website to track incidents. Remedies apply equally to covered app stores, social media platforms, and AI chatbot operators.

The Safe Screens Act puts parents back in charge, ends the engagement-at-all-costs model for minors, and holds corporations accountable when they fail.

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