Florida advances parental rights with SB 1722

As a mother, it has always been clear to me that no one knows my child better than I do. Especially not the government. That’s why I founded Moms for Liberty.

There was a need for a parental rights platform ensuring that parents are not co-parenting with the government.

In my continued advocacy and engagement, I’ve been careful to support policies that advance parental rights while opposing proposals that would sideline parents.

An area that has received plenty of attention in this realm,  and that I have spoken about before, is youth online safety. I am excited to support legislation currently making its way through the Florida Legislature that would give parents tools to keep their kids safe online: Sen. Alexis Calatayud’s Senate Bill 1722, the App Store Accountability Act.

The debate around childhood online activity is not new in Florida. In 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 3, which requires parental consent for children under 16 to have social media accounts. This legislation was a step in the right direction in reaffirming Florida’s leadership in parental rights. Since then, Florida has been on a path toward creating additional parent-centered and child-protecting online safety legislation.

While Florida children under 16 cannot download social media applications without parental consent, there are still dangerous AI chatbots, inappropriate deepfakes, and other harmful content hidden in the apps available to minors within app stores. We know that our online ecosystem is not safe because children continue to become exposed to violent, explicit, and sexual content on their devices.

Protecting children begins with empowering parents, and Senate Bill 1722 will build on Florida’s prior protections for children online and continue to lead the nation in legislation to strengthen parental rights, beginning at the app store level.

SB 1722, the App Store Accountability Act, strengthens parental oversight by establishing secure age-verification measures at the app store, without requiring anyone to upload an ID or share any new personal information, and by requiring parents to approve all app downloads and in-app purchases their children want to make.

The premise of the bill is straightforward and common sense: minors cannot legally enter into binding terms of service that grant tech companies access to their personal data without parental consent.

This legislation has already passed in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana, and Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis has introduced it in Congress.

Our Moms For Liberty-commissioned poll found that 93% of Florida parents support requiring app stores to get parental consent before minors can download apps on their devices. This level of parental support is unprecedented, underscoring the need for the Florida Legislature to act.

SB 1722 will ensure that the government takes a back seat to parents while strengthening resources to help them make informed decisions about protecting their children.

The parent-focused SB 1722 has another strength: longevity. Instead of legislating platform by platform, in a world where thousands of apps are created daily, parents would find comfort knowing they will always have the final say.

The App Store Accountability Act is designed to empower parents by establishing safeguards before children can download any new app, including any new technology that may be developed in the future.

I am pleased that SB 1722 passed unanimously out of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee, and I look forward to continuing to champion this bill until it gets to Governor DeSantis’s desk, where I am confident he will sign it, and millions of Florida parents will find solace knowing that their children’s digital lives are becoming safer.

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Tina Descovich of Melbourne is the co-founder of Moms for Liberty.