A proposed Florida bill that would compel social media companies to incorporate encryption backdoors for law enforcement has passed a critical legislative committee and is moving forward to the state senate for a vote.
The legislation, titled the “Social Media Use by Minors” bill (SB 868), mandates that popular social media platforms provide authorities access mechanisms enabling them to decrypt end-to-end encrypted content if presented with a subpoena. Additionally, the bill would require social media companies to grant parents or guardians full access to minors’ accounts and prohibit young users from employing messaging features designed to automatically delete messages.
Critics and digital privacy advocates have sharply condemned the draft law, emphasizing that weakening encryption undermines fundamental user security and poses substantial risks. In a strong criticism posted last week, the digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argued that encryption remains essential for safeguarding private communications online and warned that this bill would ultimately leave minors more vulnerable, claiming such measures are “dangerous and dumb”.
In recent years, major tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Meta have developed platforms with progressively stringent end-to-end encryption measures. They maintain this technology ensures that messages and sensitive user information are inaccessible—even to the platform providers themselves—and protects individuals against cybercriminals, hackers, or malicious insiders. These platforms argue that offering encryption backdoors would significantly compromise users’ security and privacy.
The specific wording of the proposed Florida law raises questions about compliance requirements, particularly regarding the use of subpoenas. Law enforcement agencies typically issue subpoenas absent judicial review, whereas companies generally reserve the disclosure of sensitive material for court-approved search warrants. Warrants require the presentation of reasonable evidence before a judge, a much higher standard than a subpoena, which usually seeks limited basic account data, like phone numbers or email addresses.
This legislative push in Florida follows another controversial social media law enacted last year concerning minors’ use of digital platforms, a regulation currently tied up in litigation amid constitutional debates.
A parallel bill undergoing the legislative process in the Florida House (HB 743) faces one final committee review before it can be voted on by the full House assembly.
