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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
1
An act relating to public records; amending s. 2
501.1736, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for information relating to 4
investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs of 5
certain social media violations; authorizing the 6
department to disclose such information for specified 7
purposes; defining the term "proprietary information"; 8
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 9
the exemption; providing a statement of public 10
necessity; amending s. 501.1737, F.S.; providing an 11
exemption from public records requirements for 12
information relating to investigations by the 13
Department of Legal Affairs of certain age 14
verification violations; authorizi ng the department to 15
disclose such information for specified purposes; 16
defining the term "proprietary information"; providing 17
for future legislative review and repeal of the 18
exemption; providing a statement of public necessity; 19
providing a contingent effec tive date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Present subsection (9) of section 501.1736, 24
Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1 or similar legislation, 25
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2024 Regular Session, is redesignated as subsection (10), and a 26
new subsection (9) is added to that section, to read: 27
501.1736 Social media use for minors. — 28
(9)(a) All information held by the department pursuant to 29
a notification of a violation under this section or an 30
investigation of a violation of this sectio n is confidential and 31
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 32
Constitution, until such time as the investigation is completed 33
or ceases to be active. This exemption shall be construed in 34
conformity with s. 119.071(2)(c). 35
(b) During an active investigation, information made 36
confidential and exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) may be 37
disclosed by the department: 38
1. In the furtherance of its official duties and 39
responsibilities; 40
2. For print, publication, or broadcast if the department 41
determines that such release would assist in notifying the 42
public or locating or identifying a person that the department 43
believes to be a victim of an improper use or disposal of 44
customer records, except that information made confidential and 45
exempt by paragraph (c) may not be released pursuant to this 46
subparagraph; or 47
3. To another governmental entity in the furtherance of 48
its official duties and responsibilities. 49
(c) Upon completion of an investigation or once an 50
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investigation ceases to be active, the following information 51
held by the department shall remain confidential and exempt from 52
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution: 53
1. Information that is otherwise confidential or exempt 54
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the Stat e 55
Constitution. 56
2. Personal identifying information. 57
3. A computer forensic report. 58
4. Information that would otherwise reveal weaknesses in 59
the data security of a social media platform. 60
5. Information that would disclose the proprietary 61
information of a social media platform. 62
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "proprietary 63
information" means information that: 64
1. Is owned or controlled by the social media platform. 65
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the social 66
media platform as private because disclosure would harm the 67
social media platform or its business operations. 68
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 69
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 70
released to the public. 71
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 72
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 73
same configuration as received by the department. 74
5. Reveals competitive interests, the disclosure of which 75
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would impair the competitive adva ntage of the social media 76
platform that is the subject of the information. 77
(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 78
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 79
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 80
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 81
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 82
necessity that all information held by the Department of Legal 83
Affairs pursuant to a notification of a violation of s. 84
501.1736, Florida Statutes, or an i nvestigation of a violation 85
of that section, be made confidential and exempt from s. 86
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 87
State Constitution for the following reasons: 88
(1) A notification of a violation of s. 501.1736, Florida 89
Statutes, may result in an investigation of such violation. The 90
premature release of such information could frustrate or thwart 91
the investigation and impair the ability of the department to 92
effectively and efficiently administer s. 501.1736, Florida 93
Statutes. In addition, release of such information before 94
completion of an active investigation could jeopardize the 95
ongoing investigation. 96
(2) Release of information that is otherwise confidential 97
or exempt from public records requirements once an investigation 98
is completed or ceases to be active would undo the specific 99
statutory exemption protecting that information, thus clarifying 100
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that any protections currently afforded to such information are 101
not removed. 102
(3) An investigation of a violation of s. 501.1736, 103
Florida Statutes, is likely to result in the gathering of 104
sensitive personal identifying information, which could include 105
identification numbers, unique identifiers, professional or 106
employment-related information, and personal financial 107
information. Such inf ormation could be used for the purpose of 108
identity theft. The release of such information could subject 109
families to possible privacy violations, as it would reveal 110
information of a sensitive personal nature. 111
(4) Notices received by the department and inf ormation 112
generated during an investigation of a violation of s. 501.1736, 113
Florida Statutes, are likely to contain proprietary information. 114
Such information derives independent, economic value, actual or 115
potential, from being generally unknown to, and not r eadily 116
ascertainable by, other persons who might obtain economic value 117
from its disclosure or use. Allowing public access to 118
proprietary information through a public records request could 119
destroy the value of the proprietary information and cause a 120
financial loss to the social media platform. Release of such 121
information could give business competitors an unfair advantage. 122
(5) Information held by the department may contain a 123
computer forensic report or information that could reveal 124
weaknesses in the data s ecurity of a social media platform. The 125
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release of this information could result in the identification 126
of vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity system of the social 127
media platform and be used to harm the social media platform and 128
its clients. 129
(6) The harm that may result from the release of 130
information held by the department pursuant to a notification or 131
investigation of a violation of s. 501.1736, Florida Statutes, 132
could impair the effective and efficient administration of the 133
investigation and thus outwe ighs the public benefit that may be 134
derived from the disclosure of the information. 135
Section 3. Present subsection (8) of section 501.1737, 136
Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1 or similar legislation, 137
2024 Regular Session, is redesignated as subsection (9), and a 138
new subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: 139
501.1737 Age verification for online access to materials 140
harmful to minors.— 141
(8)(a) All information held by the department pursuant to 142
a notification of a violation under this section or an 143
investigation of a violation of this section is confidential and 144
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 145
Constitution, until such time as the investigation is completed 146
or ceases to be active. This exemption shall be construed in 147
conformity with s. 119.071(2)(c). 148
(b) During an active investigation, information made 149
confidential and exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) may be 150
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disclosed by the department: 151
1. In the furtherance of its official duties and 152
responsibilities; 153
2. For print, publication, or broadcast if the department 154
determines that such release would assist in notifying the 155
public or locating or identifying a person whom the department 156
believes to be a victim of an improper use or disposal of 157
customer records, except that in formation made confidential and 158
exempt by paragraph (c) may not be released pursuant to this 159
subparagraph; or 160
3. To another governmental entity in the furtherance of 161
its official duties and responsibilities. 162
(c) Upon completion of an investigation or o nce an 163
investigation ceases to be active, the following information 164
held by the department shall remain confidential and exempt from 165
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution: 166
1. Information that is otherwise confidential or exempt 167
from s. 119.07(1) or s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 168
2. Personal identifying information. 169
3. A computer forensic report. 170
4. Information that would otherwise reveal weaknesses in 171
the data security of the commercial entity. 172
5. Information that would disclose the proprietary 173
information of the commercial entity. 174
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 175
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information" means information that: 176
1. Is owned or controlled by the commercial entity. 177
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the 178
commercial entity as private because disclosure would harm the 179
commercial entity or its business operations. 180
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 181
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 182
released to the public. 183
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 184
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 185
same configuration as received by the department. 186
5. Reveals competitive interests, the disclosure of which 187
would impair the competitive advantage of the commercial entity 188
that is the subject of the information. 189
(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 190
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 191
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless revie wed and saved from 192
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 193
Section 4. The Legislature finds that it is a public 194
necessity that all information held by the Department of Legal 195
Affairs pursuant to a notification of a violation of s. 196
501.1737, Florida Statutes, or an investigation of a violation 197
of that section, be made confidential and exempt from s. 198
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 199
State Constitution for the following reasons: 200
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(1) A notification of a violation of s. 50 1.1737, Florida 201
Statutes, may result in an investigation of such violation. The 202
premature release of such information could frustrate or thwart 203
the investigation and impair the ability of the department to 204
effectively and efficiently administer s. 501.1737 , Florida 205
Statutes. In addition, release of such information before 206
completion of an active investigation could jeopardize the 207
ongoing investigation. 208
(2) Release of information that is otherwise confidential 209
or exempt from public records requirements onc e an investigation 210
is completed or ceases to be active would undo the specific 211
statutory exemption protecting that information, thus clarifying 212
that any protections currently afforded to that information are 213
not removed. 214
(3) An investigation of a violati on of s. 501.1737, 215
Florida Statutes, is likely to result in the gathering of 216
sensitive personal identifying information, which could include 217
identification numbers, unique identifiers, professional or 218
employment-related information, and personal financial 219
information. Such information could be used for the purpose of 220
identity theft. The release of such information could subject 221
individuals to possible privacy violations, as it would reveal 222
information of a sensitive personal nature. 223
(4) Notices received b y the department and information 224
generated during an investigation of a violation of s. 501.1737, 225
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Florida Statutes, are likely to contain proprietary information. 226
Such information derives independent, economic value, actual or 227
potential, from being general ly unknown to, and not readily 228
ascertainable by, other persons who might obtain economic value 229
from its disclosure or use. Allowing public access to 230
proprietary information through a public records request could 231
destroy the value of the proprietary informa tion and cause a 232
financial loss to the commercial entity. Release of such 233
information could give business competitors an unfair advantage. 234
(5) Information held by the department may contain a 235
computer forensic report or information that could reveal 236
weaknesses in the data security of the commercial entity. The 237
release of this information could result in the identification 238
of vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity system of the commercial 239
entity and be used to harm the commercial entity and its 240
clients. 241
(6) The harm that may result from the release of 242
information held by the department pursuant to a notification or 243
investigation by the department of a violation of s. 501.1737, 244
Florida Statutes, could impair the effective and efficient 245
administration of the investigation and thus outweighs the 246
public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 247
information. 248
Section 5. This act shall take effect on the same date 249
that HB 1 or similar legislation takes effect, if such 250
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legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 251
extension thereof and becomes a law . 252