> Never knew freedom of speech in the US has an age restriction
Freedom of speech is freedom from Government intervention.
Social Media companies are private companies, and you can absolutely regulate what products & services have age limits, as the government isn't technically restricting speech.
How wouldn't this bill constitute government intervention? The government would be making it illegal for any person or business to run a social media platform that transmits the speech of minors, even if they want to run such a platform.
This comes up in every such discussion: freedom of speech as a legal construct applies to governments, but freedom of speech as an ideal and principle is something that private platforms can support and encourage, or censor and deny.
We need a distinction for this, like "free as in legal" speech versus "free as in voice".
Freedom of speech is freedom from Government intervention.
Social Media companies are private companies, and you can absolutely regulate what products & services have age limits, as the government isn't technically restricting speech.