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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to social media platforms; amending s. 2
501.2041, F.S.; providing legislative findings; 3
revising the definition of the term "social media 4
platform"; conforming cross -references; creating s. 5
501.2042, F.S.; providing requirements for social 6
media platforms relating to acceptable use policies, 7
quarterly transparency reports, and a complaint 8
system; requiring social media platforms to take 9
specified actions upon receiving notices of illegal 10
activity or content; authorizing the Attorney General 11
to bring an action against social media platforms and 12
to recover certain costs; providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Subsections (1) through (10) of section 17
501.2041, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) 18
through (11), respectively, present subsections (1), (3), (6), 19
and (7) are amended, and a new subsection (1) is added to that 20
section, to read: 21
501.2041 Unlawful acts and practices by social media 22
platforms.— 23
(1) The Legislature finds that: 24
(a) Each person in the state has a fundamental interest in 25
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the free exchange of ideas and information, which includes the 26
freedom to share and receive ideas and information. 27
(b) The state has a fundamental interest in protecting the 28
free exchange of ideas and information in the state. 29
(c) Social media platforms function as common carriers, 30
are affected with a public interest, ar e central public forums 31
for public debate, and have enjoyed governmental support in the 32
United States. 33
(d) Social media platforms with the largest number of 34
users are common carriers by virtue of their market dominance. 35
(2)(1) As used in this section and s. 501.2042, the term: 36
(a) "Algorithm" means a mathematical set of rules that 37
specifies how a group of data behaves and that will assist in 38
ranking search results and maintaining order or that is used in 39
sorting or ranking content or material based on relevancy or 40
other factors instead of using published time or chronological 41
order of such content or material. 42
(b) "Censor" includes any action taken by a social media 43
platform to delete, regulate, restrict, edit, alter, inhibit the 44
publication or repub lication of, suspend a right to post, 45
remove, or post an addendum to any content or material posted by 46
a user. The term also includes actions to inhibit the ability of 47
a user to be viewable by or to interact with another user of the 48
social media platform. 49
(c) "Deplatform" means the action or practice by a social 50
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media platform to permanently delete or ban a user or to 51
temporarily delete or ban a user from the social media platform 52
for more than 14 days. 53
(d) "Journalistic enterprise" means an entity doin g 54
business in Florida that: 55
1. Publishes in excess of 100,000 words available online 56
with at least 50,000 paid subscribers or 100,000 monthly active 57
users; 58
2. Publishes 100 hours of audio or video available online 59
with at least 100 million viewers annually; 60
3. Operates a cable channel that provides more than 40 61
hours of content per week to more than 100,000 cable television 62
subscribers; or 63
4. Operates under a broadcast license issued by the 64
Federal Communications Commission. 65
(e) "Post-prioritization" means action by a social media 66
platform to place, feature, or prioritize certain content or 67
material ahead of, below, or in a more or less prominent 68
position than others in a newsfeed, a feed, a view, or in search 69
results. The term does not include post-prioritization of 70
content and material of a third party, including other users, 71
based on payments by that third party, to the social media 72
platform. 73
(f) "Shadow ban" means action by a social media platform, 74
through any means, whether the action is determined by a natural 75
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person or an algorithm, to limit or eliminate the exposure of a 76
user or content or material posted by a user to other users of 77
the social media platform. This term includes acts of shadow 78
banning by a social media platform which are not readily 79
apparent to a user. 80
(g) "Social media platform" means any information service, 81
system, Internet search engine, or access software provider 82
that: 83
1. Provides or enables computer access by multiple users 84
to a computer server, including an In ternet platform or a social 85
media site; 86
2. Operates as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited 87
liability company, corporation, association, or other legal 88
entity; 89
3. Does business in the state; and 90
4. Satisfies at least one of the following thres holds: 91
a. Has annual gross revenues in excess of $100 million, as 92
adjusted in January of each odd -numbered year to reflect any 93
increase in the Consumer Price Index. 94
b. Has at least 100 million monthly individual platform 95
participants globally. 96
97
The term does not include any information service, system, 98
Internet search engine, or access software provider operated by 99
a company that owns and operates a theme park or entertainment 100
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complex as defined in s. 509.013 ; electronic mail; or any online 101
service, application, or website that consists primarily of 102
news, sports, entertainment, or other information or content 103
that is not user generated but is preselected by the provider 104
and for which any chat, comment, or interactive functionality is 105
incidental to, direc tly related to, or dependent upon the 106
provision of the news, sports, entertainment, or other 107
information or content . 108
(h) "User" means a person who resides or is domiciled in 109
this state and who has an account on a social media platform, 110
regardless of whether the person posts or has posted content or 111
material to the social media platform. 112
(4)(3) For purposes of subparagraph (3)(d)1. (2)(d)1., a 113
notification must: 114
(a) Be in writing. 115
(b) Be delivered via electronic mail or direct electronic 116
notification to the user within 7 days after the censoring 117
action. 118
(c) Include a thorough rationale explaining the reason 119
that the social media platform censored the user. 120
(d) Include a precise and thorough explanation of how the 121
social media platform became awar e of the censored content or 122
material, including a thorough explanation of the algorithms 123
used, if any, to identify or flag the user's content or material 124
as objectionable. 125
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(7)(6) A user may only bring a private cause of action for 126
violations of paragrap h (3)(b) (2)(b) or subparagraph (3)(d)1. 127
(2)(d)1. In a private cause of action brought under paragraph 128
(3)(b) (2)(b) or subparagraph (3)(d)1. (2)(d)1., the court may 129
award the following remedies to the user: 130
(a) Up to $100,000 in statutory damages per pr oven claim. 131
(b) Actual damages. 132
(c) If aggravating factors are present, punitive damages. 133
(d) Other forms of equitable relief, including injunctive 134
relief. 135
(e) If the user was deplatformed in violation of paragraph 136
(3)(b) (2)(b), costs and reasonab le attorney fees. 137
(8)(7) For purposes of bringing an action in accordance 138
with subsections (5) and (6) and (7), each failure to comply 139
with the individual provisions of subsection (3) (2) shall be 140
treated as a separate violation, act, or practice. For pu rposes 141
of bringing an action in accordance with subsections (5) and (6) 142
and (7), a social media platform that censors, shadow bans, 143
deplatforms, or applies post -prioritization algorithms to 144
candidates and users in the state is conclusively presumed to be 145
both engaged in substantial and not isolated activities within 146
the state and operating, conducting, engaging in, or carrying on 147
a business, and doing business in this state, and is therefore 148
subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the state. 149
Section 2. Section 501.2042, Florida Statutes, is created 150
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to read: 151
501.2042 Acceptable use policy; transparency report; 152
complaint procedures; appeals. — 153
(1) A social media platform must publish an acceptable use 154
policy in a location that is easily accessible to a user. 155
(2) A social media platform's acceptable use policy must: 156
(a) Reasonably inform users about the types of content 157
allowed on the social media platform. 158
(b) Describe the steps the social media platform will take 159
to ensure that content complies with the acceptable use policy. 160
(c) Describe the means by which users may notify the 161
social media platform of content that potentially violates the 162
acceptable use policy, illegal content, or illegal activity, 163
which includes: 164
1. A live company representative who is available 8 hours 165
a day, 5 days a week to take user complaints through a toll -free 166
telephone number. 167
2. An e-mail address or relevant complaint inta ke 168
mechanism to handle user complaints. 169
3. A complaint system as described in subsection (5). 170
(3) As part of a social media platform's acceptable use 171
policy, the social media platform must publish a quarterly 172
transparency report that includes, with res pect to the preceding 173
3-month period: 174
(a) The total number of instances in which the social 175
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media platform was alerted to illegal content, illegal activity, 176
or content that potentially violates the acceptable use policy 177
by: 178
1. A user; 179
2. An employee of or a person contracting with the social 180
media platform; or 181
3. An internal automated detection tool; 182
(b) Subject to subsection (4), the total number of 183
instances in which the social media platform took action with 184
respect to illegal content, illegal activity, or content that 185
potentially violates the acceptable use policy, including: 186
1. Content removal; 187
2. Content demonetization; 188
3. Post-prioritization; 189
4. The addition of any content assessment; 190
5. Account suspension; 191
6. Account removal; or 192
7. Any other action taken in accordance with the social 193
media platform's acceptable use policy; 194
(c) The country in which the user who provided the content 195
resides for each instance described in paragraph (b); 196
(d) The total number of coordinated camp aigns, if 197
applicable; 198
(e) The total number of instances in which a user appealed 199
the social media platform's decision to remove the user's 200
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content that potentially violates the acceptable use policy; 201
(f) The percentage of appeals described in paragraph (e) 202
that resulted in the restoration of the content; and 203
(g) A description of each tool, practice, action, or 204
technique used in enforcing the acceptable use policy. 205
(4)(a) The information published by the social media 206
platform in subsection (3) must b e categorized by: 207
1. Type of rule violated; and 208
2. Source of the alert of illegal content, illegal 209
activity, or content that potentially violates the acceptable 210
use policy, including by: 211
a. A government; 212
b. A user; 213
c. An internal automated detection tool; 214
d. A coordinated effort with other social media platforms; 215
or 216
e. An employee of or a person contracting with the social 217
media platform. 218
(b) A social media platform must publish the transparency 219
report information described in subsecti on (3) with an open 220
license, in a machine -readable and open format, and in a 221
location that is easily accessible to users. 222
(5) A social media platform must provide an easily 223
accessible complaint system to enable a user to submit a 224
complaint in good faith and keep track of the status of the 225
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complaint, including a complaint regarding: 226
(a) Illegal content or illegal activity; or 227
(b) A decision made by the social media platform to remove 228
content posted by the user. 229
(6)(a) If a social media platform recei ves notice of 230
illegal content or illegal activity on the social media 231
platform, the social media platform must make a good faith 232
effort to evaluate the legality of the content or activity 233
within 24 hours after receiving the notice, subject to 234
reasonable exceptions based on concerns about the legitimacy of 235
the notice. 236
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), if a social media 237
platform removes content based on a violation of the platform's 238
acceptable use policy, the social media platform must, 239
concurrently with the removal: 240
1. Notify the user who provided the content of the removal 241
and explain why the content was removed; 242
2. Allow the user to appeal the social media platform's 243
decision to remove the content; and 244
3. Provide written notice to the user wh o provided the 245
content of: 246
a. The determination regarding an appeal requested under 247
subparagraph 2.; and 248
b. If the social media platform reverses its decision to 249
remove the content, the reason for the reversal. 250
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(c) A social media platform is not requ ired to provide a 251
user with notice of or an opportunity to appeal under paragraph 252
(b) if the social media platform: 253
1. Is unable to contact the user after taking reasonable 254
steps to make contact; or 255
2. Knows that the content that potentially violates t he 256
acceptable use policy relates to an ongoing law enforcement 257
investigation. 258
(7) If a social media platform receives a user complaint 259
that the social media platform removed content provided by a 260
user from the platform that the user believes was not cont ent 261
that potentially violates the acceptable use policy, the social 262
media platform shall, no later than the 14th day after the date 263
on which the platform receives the complaint: 264
(a) Review the content; 265
(b) Determine whether the content adheres to the s ocial 266
media platform's acceptable use policy; 267
(c) Take appropriate steps based on the determination made 268
under paragraph (b); and 269
(d) Notify the user regarding the determination made under 270
paragraph (b) and the steps taken under paragraph (c). 271
(8)(a) The Attorney General may bring an action against a 272
social media platform to enjoin a violation of this section. 273
(b) If a court grants an injunction in an action brought 274
under this section, the Attorney General may recover costs 275
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incurred in bringing the action, including reasonable attorney 276
fees and reasonable investigative costs. 277
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 278