Children under 14 will be barred from joining social media in Florida from next year.

Signed into law by governor Ron DeSantis, the legislation directs social media firms to delete the accounts of under-14s. Children aged 14 and 15 will also need parental consent before signing up for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.

Companies who fail to delete accounts risk being sued on behalf of children - with the minor awarded up to $10,000 (£7,908) - and could also be fined up to $50,000 (£39,538) per violation of the law. It's set to come into effect in Florida from January next year, but challenges by firms claiming it violates the US constitution are expected.

Read more from Sky News:Kids first see violent content at primary school - watchdogHarassment of girls online 'standard', some parents sayBoeing boss and chairman head for exit amid safety crisis The state's Republican speaker Paul Renner called the bill his top priority and said that "a child in their brain development doesn't have the ability to know that they're being sucked into these addictive technologies". The bill also defines material harmful to children as including content "lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.