CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 1 of 11
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 defamation, false light, and 2
unauthorized publication of name or likenesses; 3
amending s. 770.02, F.S.; requiring that certain 4
articles or broadcasts be removed from the Internet 5
within a specified period to limit damages for 6
defamation; amending s. 770.04, F.S.; providing 7
persons in certain positions relating to newspapers 8
with immunity for defamation if such persons exercise 9
due care to prevent utterance of such a statement; 10
requiring removal of defamatory statements from the 11
Internet in certain circumstances; amending s. 770.05, 12
F.S.; providing a definition; providing venue for 13
damages for a defamation or privacy tort based on 14
material broadcast over radio or television; providing 15
venue for damages for a defamation or privacy tort 16
based on material published, exhibited, or uttered on 17
the Internet; providing for award of attorney fees and 18
damages due to plaintiff's choice of venue in certain 19
circumstances; creating s. 770.107, F.S.; providing 20
for a motion for a veracity hearing in a defama tion or 21
privacy tort action; specifying determinations to be 22
made on such a motion; providing a timeframe for a 23
hearing; limiting the court's review of such a motion; 24
specifying that a certain finding may not be made in 25
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 2 of 11
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
ruling on such a motion; providing f or award of 26
attorney fees in certain circumstances; creating s. 27
770.11, F.S.; providing a rebuttable presumption that 28
a publisher of a false statement acted with actual 29
malice in certain circumstances; creating s. 770.15, 30
F.S.; providing a definition; prov iding that a person 31
who uses artificial intelligence to create or edit any 32
form of media in a certain manner is subject to 33
liability in certain circumstances; incorporating 34
certain standards; reenacting ss. 770.06, 770.07, and 35
770.08, F.S., relating to adv erse judgment in any 36
jurisdiction as a bar to additional action, cause of 37
action and time of accrual, and limitation on recovery 38
of damages, respectively, to incorporate the amendment 39
made to s. 770.05, F.S., in references thereto; 40
providing severability; providing an effective date. 41
42
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43
44
Section 1. Section 770.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to 45
read: 46
770.02 Correction, apology, or retraction by newspaper or 47
broadcast station.— 48
(1) If it appears upon the trial that said article or 49
broadcast was published in good faith; that its falsity was due 50
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 3 of 11
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
to an honest mistake of the facts; that there were reasonable 51
grounds for believing that the statements in said article or 52
broadcast were true; and th at, within the period of time 53
specified in subsection (2), a full and fair correction, 54
apology, or retraction was, in the case of a newspaper or 55
periodical, published in the same editions or corresponding 56
issues of the newspaper or periodical in which said article 57
appeared and in as conspicuous place and type as said original 58
article or, in the case of a broadcast, the correction, apology, 59
or retraction was broadcast at a comparable time, then the 60
plaintiff in such case shall recover only actual damages. 61
(2) Full and fair correction, apology, or retraction shall 62
be made: 63
(a) In the case of a broadcast or a daily or weekly 64
newspaper or periodical, within 10 days after service of 65
notice.; 66
(b) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published 67
semimonthly, within 20 days after service of notice .; 68
(c) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published 69
monthly, within 45 days after service of notice .; and 70
(d) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published 71
less frequently than monthly, in the next iss ue, provided notice 72
is served no later than 45 days prior to such publication. 73
(3) For purposes of this section, in order to limit 74
recovery to actual damages as provided in this section, when 75
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 4 of 11
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
such an article or a broadcast has been published on the 76
Internet, the article or broadcast must either be: 77
(a) Permanently removed from the Internet within the time 78
period provided in paragraph (2)(a); or 79
(b) Retracted or corrected within the time period provided 80
in paragraph (2)(a) and a notation must be placed on the 81
headline and at the beginning of the article, in type font as 82
large or larger than the article's, stating the retraction or 83
correction was made and what was retracted or corrected. 84
Section 2. Section 770.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to 85
read: 86
770.04 Civil liability of certain media outlets radio or 87
television broadcasting stations ; care to prevent publication or 88
utterance required.— 89
(1) The owner, licensee, or operator of a radio or 90
television broadcasting station or a newspaper, and the agents 91
or employees of any such owner, licensee , or operator, shall not 92
be liable for any damages for any defamatory statement published 93
or uttered in or as a part of a radio or television broadcast or 94
newspaper article, by one other than such owner, licen see, or 95
operator, or general agent or employees thereof, unless it is 96
shall be alleged and proved by the complaining party , that such 97
owner, licensee, operator, general agent , or employee, has 98
failed to exercise due care to prevent the publication or 99
utterance of such statement in such broadcasts or newspaper 100
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 5 of 11
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
articles, provided, however, the exercise of due care shall be 101
construed to include the bona fide compliance with any federal 102
law or the regulation of any federal regulatory agency. 103
(2) When an owner, a licensee, or an operator described in 104
subsection (1) publishes a defamatory statement on the Internet 105
with no knowledge of falsity of the statement and thereafter 106
receives notice that such statement has been found in a judicial 107
proceeding to be false, or receives notice of facts that would 108
cause a reasonable person to conclude that such statement was 109
false, and the owner, licensee, or operator fails to take 110
reasonable steps to permanently remove the statement and any 111
related report from the Internet or correct the statement as 112
prescribed in s. 770.02(3), the continued appearance of such 113
statement or report on the Internet after the notice shall be a 114
new publication for purpose of the statute of limitations, and 115
the owner, licensee, or operator shall not be entitled to a fair 116
reporting privilege for such new publication. 117
Section 3. Section 770.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to 118
read: 119
770.05 Limitation of choice of venue. — 120
(1) As used in this chapter, the term "defamation or 121
privacy tort" means lib el, slander, invasion of privacy, or any 122
other tort founded upon any single publication, exhibition, or 123
utterance, such as any one edition of a newspaper, book, or 124
magazine, any one presentation to an audience, any one broadcast 125
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 6 of 11
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
over radio or television, a ny one exhibition of a motion 126
picture, or any one publication, exhibition, or utterance on the 127
Internet. 128
(2) A No person may not shall have more than one choice of 129
venue for damages for a defamation or privacy tort libel or 130
slander, invasion of privacy, or any other tort founded upon any 131
single publication, exhibition, or utterance, such as any one 132
edition of a newspaper, book, or magazine, any one presentation 133
to an audience, any one broadcast over radio or television, or 134
any one exhibition of a motion p icture. Recovery in any action 135
shall include all damages for any such tort suffered by the 136
plaintiff in all jurisdictions. 137
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 138
or any other statute providing for venue, when: 139
(a) Damages for a defama tion or privacy tort are based on 140
material broadcast over radio or television, venue is proper in 141
any county in which the material was accessed and in which a 142
plaintiff reasonably suffered damages as a result of the 143
broadcast. 144
(b) Damages for a defamatio n or privacy tort are based on 145
material published, exhibited, or uttered on the Internet, venue 146
is proper in any county in the state in which a plaintiff 147
reasonably suffered damages as a result of the publication. 148
(c) A plaintiff may not bring an action for a defamation 149
or privacy tort in a venue that does not possess a reasonable 150
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 7 of 11
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
connection to the material circumstances related to the cause of 151
action. 152
(4) Upon the court's initiative or motion of any party, 153
the court shall award reasonable attorney fees and damages to be 154
paid to the defendant in equal amounts by the plaintiff and the 155
plaintiff's attorney if a plaintiff's choice of venue is 156
determined to possess no reasonable connection to the material 157
circumstances related to the cause of action or the p laintiff's 158
choice of venue is determined to have been sought for the 159
purposes of harassment or other vexatious purpose. 160
Section 4. Section 770.107, Florida Statutes, is created 161
to read: 162
770.107 Veracity hearings in defamation or privacy tort 163
actions.— 164
(1)(a) Upon motion by any party to a cause of action 165
brought under this chapter, the court shall conduct a hearing to 166
determine the following: 167
1. Whether any material statement that constitutes the 168
basis for the cause of action is a statement of fact or an 169
opinion. 170
2. The veracity of any statement of fact that constitutes 171
the basis for the cause of action. 172
(b) The court shall grant such motion if the movant shows 173
there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact regarding 174
the subject of the motion. 175
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 8 of 11
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
(2) Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the court 176
shall hear the motion within 60 days after service of the 177
motion. 178
(3) The court's review of the motion shall be limited 179
solely to determining whether a statement is a statement of fact 180
or an opinion and the veracity of the statement of fact at issue 181
in the underlying cause of action. 182
(4) In ruling upon a motion for determination of veracity, 183
the court shall issue no findings regarding the following 184
matters at issue in the underlying caus e of action: 185
(a) Whether the statement of fact constitutes defamation 186
per se, defamation per quod, or a privacy tort; 187
(b) Whether the plaintiff in the cause of action qualifies 188
as a public figure or limited public figure; or 189
(c) Whether the defendant in the cause of action acted 190
negligently, recklessly, intentionally, or with actual malice. 191
(5) The court shall assess against the nonprevailing party 192
the reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with the 193
hearing. 194
Section 5. Section 770.11, Flo rida Statutes, is created to 195
read: 196
770.11 Presumption regarding anonymous sources when the 197
statement made about a public figure is false. —If a public 198
figure plaintiff can establish that a published statement is 199
false and that the publisher relied on an a nonymous source for 200
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 9 of 11
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
the statement, there is a rebuttable presumption that the 201
publisher acted with actual malice in publishing the statement. 202
Section 6. Section 770.15, Florida Statutes, is created to 203
read: 204
770.15 Using artificial intelligence to pla ce person in 205
false light.— 206
(1) As used in this section, the term "artificial 207
intelligence" means a machine -based system that, for explicit or 208
implicit objectives, infers, from the input the system receives, 209
how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, 210
recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or 211
virtual environments. Different artificial intelligence systems 212
vary in the levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after 213
deployment. 214
(2) A person who intentionally uses artificial 215
intelligence to create or edit any form of media so that it 216
attributes something false to or leads a reasonable viewer to 217
believe something false about another person is subject to 218
liability if all of the following apply: 219
(a) The media is published, distributed , or otherwise 220
placed before the public. 221
(b) The false light in which the other person was placed 222
would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. 223
(c) The person creating or editing the media had actual 224
knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard as t o the false 225
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 10 of 11
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
implications of the media. 226
(3) This section incorporates the standards set forth 227
under chapter 770 for defamation causes of action to the extent 228
necessary. 229
Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 230
made by this act to sect ion 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a 231
reference thereto, section 770.06, Florida Statutes, is 232
reenacted to read: 233
770.06 Adverse judgment in any jurisdiction a bar to 234
additional action.—A judgment in any jurisdiction for or against 235
the plaintiff upon the sub stantive merits of any action for 236
damages founded upon a single publication or exhibition or 237
utterance as described in s. 770.05 shall bar any other action 238
for damages by the same plaintiff against the same defendant 239
founded upon the same publication or ex hibition or utterance. 240
Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 241
made by this act to section 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a 242
reference thereto, section 770.07, Florida Statutes, is 243
reenacted to read: 244
770.07 Cause of action, time of acc rual.—The cause of 245
action for damages founded upon a single publication or 246
exhibition or utterance, as described in s. 770.05, shall be 247
deemed to have accrued at the time of the first publication or 248
exhibition or utterance thereof in this state. 249
Section 9. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 250
CS/CS/HB 757 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb0757-02-c2
Page 11 of 11
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
made by this act to section 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a 251
reference thereto, section 770.08, Florida Statutes, is 252
reenacted to read: 253
770.08 Limitation on recovery of damages. —No person shall 254
have more than one choice of venue for damages for libel founded 255
upon a single publication or exhibition or utterance, as 256
described in s. 770.05, and upon his or her election in any one 257
of his or her choices of venue, then the person shall be bound 258
to recover there all damages allowed him or her. 259
Section 10. If any provision of this act or its 260
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 261
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of 262
this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision 263
or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 264
severable. 265
Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 266