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Everyone is accountable for protecting children online

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The debate surrounding online age verification is mired in finger-pointing, blame, and polarization — articles dissect how to implement it, who should be responsible, and which tech giant is shifting responsibility to another. But amid all this noise, the core question is lost: What do children need to stay safe online?

Protecting children online isn’t about assigning blame or catering to corporate interests. It’s about ensuring children are better shielded from harm in a digital world. Just as we prioritize their safety in the physical world, we must do the same in the online spaces they inhabit—because today, online life is real life.

In 2024, the Florida Legislature courageously began protecting our children after years of relying on big tech’s voluntary measures to safeguard kids online.

SB 1438 by Sen. Erin Grall and HB 931 by Majority Leader Tyler Sirois present a clear path forward in taking the necessary steps to protect our children. These essential bills allow us to hold companies that serve as gateways to the internet for our children accountable. Under these measures, device manufacturers, operating systems, app stores, and online platforms all share responsibility for safeguarding children.

The requirement is straightforward: devices must verify age, and the apps and websites children visit must recognize and act on that age signal following the law. These bills also empower the Attorney General to enforce accountability across all involved stakeholders, leaving no room for loopholes.

Consider this: Every online experience begins with a device. That device, powered by an operating system, leads to app stores and web browsers, which, in turn, provide access to apps and websites. Just a handful of companies control these pathways, influencing the entire ecosystem of online destinations. To protect children, these gatekeepers must fulfill their role. Excluding websites and apps from accountability would be a mistake, but leaving out device manufacturers, operating systems, and app stores would be equally shortsighted. True accountability and improved child safety must include every link in the chain.

Device-based age verification offers the most effective, universal solution. It works across companies, platforms, and standards while providing the strongest privacy and security protections for all users, not just children.

Without robust age verification, we cannot adequately protect kids. The alarming statistics evidencing harm to children online indicate that our kids cannot wait. Instead of fixating on which companies should bear the responsibility, let’s focus on what children need. Accountability is key, and the time has come to establish accountability for the companies children interact with on the internet.

The tech industry has had years to address this issue, and while there has been progress, we still have a long way to go. Children deserve a solution that works and prioritizes their safety. We need a solution that is not just words on paper but creates actual accountability.

Device-based age verification is that solution. It is effective, comprehensive, and respects user privacy while offering the highest level of protection. It is time to move beyond the blame game. Instead of pitting companies against one another, we must hold all of them accountable. These new laws do just that, ensuring that every company—from device manufacturers to online platforms—shares the responsibility of protecting children.

The time to take the next step has arrived, and the cost of inaction is too high. I urge every Legislature member and the entire community to collaborate with Sen. Grall and Rep. Sirois in their efforts to protect our children and create accountability for those who control the internet. Let’s drown out the noise, finger-pointing, and bickering and create a common-sense, technically sound solution. Our children depend on all of us.

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Bob Cunningham is the director of Policy Engagement for the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and a lifelong educator.


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James Uthmeier says Andrew and Tristan Tate keep digging themselves ‘deeper into a hole’

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The investigation continues.

Attorney General James Uthmeier says Andrew and Tristan Tate are continuing to push their luck amid a probe into potentially illegal activities launched when they came to Florida a few weeks ago.

During an appearance on “The Dana Show,” Uthmeier condemned the brothers’ “weakness and sickness,” and suggested that a case against them continues to build.

“Every time these guys open their mouths, it gets them deeper in a hole,” the Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed legal officer said.

“If we can show that they committed crimes on Florida soil, then we will continue to pursue them, you know, at all costs.”

Uthmeier said the two are “charged with horrific things around the world” and “go public and they make jokes about being with girls that are 15 or 16.”

“They make jokes about not knowing the age of consent in Florida, in the United States. When you have victims coming forward, when you have public admissions, when you have criminal investigations around the world, there are clearly reasons why we, as a state, have a duty to investigate and protect our citizenry. And we will continue to do that,” Uthmeier promised.

“When it comes to human trafficking and preying upon, you know, our women and girls that are not at the age of majority, we will stop at nothing to protect them.”

While the Tates have been accused of human trafficking in Romania and face civil action for sexual abuse from four women in Britain, they have not been convicted there or anywhere else, despite a wide array of sordid soundbites and lurid anecdotes about them.

Andrew Tate continues to bait Florida into arresting him, and recently trolled First Lady Casey DeSantis by suggesting that she won’t be elected Governor if the state lets him run free.


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Rick Scott likes Byron Donalds over Casey DeSantis for Governor

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‘I’m going to do everything I can to be helpful to him. I think he’ll be a phenomenal Governor.’

The most recent former Governor is ready for change in the Governor’s Mansion.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott says he prefers U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds over First Lady Casey DeSantis in the 2026 Governor’s race.

Scott is closely aligned with President Donald Trump and has had a distant relationship with current Gov. Ron DeSantis. New comments from Scott are the latest indication that the First Lady may be the underdog if she runs in the Republican Primary next August.

“Byron’s a friend. He’s my Congressman,” Scott told radio host Brian Kilmeade Monday when asked if he would endorse Donalds. “I’m going to do everything I can to be helpful to him. I think he’ll be a phenomenal Governor. I think he’s going to win. I’m glad that Trump endorsed him.”

Asked about Casey DeSantis entering the race, Scott reiterated that “Byron Donalds is going to win.”

Scott said Donalds has a “track record,” that he “works his butt off,” and that he “believes in the right things.”

Scott offered yet another reminder of who Trump backs, meanwhile, describing the President’s endorsement as “golden in this state.”

The dynamic between Scott and the current Governor has been rough since DeSantis’ inauguration. The two have squabbled about issues ranging from the state’s unemployment website to the need to return unspent COVID stimulus money to the federal government, and they have not visibly cooperated on much of anything in the last six-plus years.

Gov. DeSantis has yet to respond to Scott backing Donalds, but when the Senator endorsed Trump over him in the 2024 Republican Primary, DeSantis accused Scott of trying to “short-circuit” voters.


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Florida unemployment rate in January shows first increase in months

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Florida’s jobless rate increased for the first time in about a half year to start 2025.

FloridaCommerce released the January figures showing that the unemployment rate came in at 3.5%. That’s the first increase in about a half year.

The rate held steady at 3.4% for the back half of 2024. Prior to that, the rate remained at 3.3% for most of early last year.

There were 390,000 people out of work in January in Florida out of a total labor force of 11,188,000 people in the state. That total labor force figure is the highest number Florida has ever seen.

“Florida continues to prove that leadership and conservative fiscal policies drive success,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We will keep the momentum going by insisting on reducing government spending, continuing to eliminate bureaucracy, and finding more tax reductions for Floridians.”

While Florida’s jobless rate increased in January, it still remains lower than the national rate, which is 4%. The Sunshine State has maintained a lower jobless figure than the national number for 51 straight months.

Miami-Dade County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state for January at 2.4%, slightly down from December’s 2.5%. But compared to a year ago, January’s unemployment rate saw a 0.5-percentage-point increase from last year.

Sumter County had the highest unemployment rate in the state in January at 6.9%.

Among major metropolitan areas in Florida, Fort Myers and Pensacola shared the dubious distinction of having 4% unemployment rates in January, the highest among large metro areas. Both were increases month-to-month and compared to January 2024.

Jacksonville and Tampa each had a 3.8% unemployment rate in January. Both were increases from a year ago, and each had an increase from the December unemployment rate.

Palm Beach County registered a 3.7% jobless figure in January. That figure was also up for the month and the year-over-year comparison.

The Orlando area also had an increase in the jobless figure, coming in at 3.6%. As was the same with other major metro areas, that figure was an increase for the month and the year.


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