HB 1491 2024
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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 public records; amending s. 2
501.1737, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for information relating to 4
investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs and 5
law enforcement agencies of certain data privacy 6
violations; providing a definition; providing for 7
future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 8
providing a statement of public necessity; providing a 9
contingent effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 501.1737, Florida 14
Statutes, as created by HB 3 or similar legislation, 2024 15
Regular Session, is renumbered as subsection (9), and a new 16
subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: 17
501.1737 Age verification for online access to materials 18
harmful to minors.— 19
(8)(a) All information received by the department pursuant 20
to a notification of a violation under this section, or recei ved 21
by the department pursuant to an investigation by the department 22
or a law enforcement agency of a violation of this section, is 23
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 24
of the State Constitution, until such time as the investigati on 25
HB 1491 2024
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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
is completed or ceases to be active. This exemption shall be 26
construed in conformity with s. 119.071(2)(c). 27
(b) During an active investigation, information made 28
confidential and exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) may be 29
disclosed by the department: 30
1. In the furtherance of its official duties and 31
responsibilities; 32
2. For print, publication, or broadcast if the department 33
determines that such release would assist in notifying the 34
public or locating or identifying a person who the department 35
believes to be a victim of a data breach or an improper use or 36
disposal of customer records, except that information made 37
confidential and exempt by paragraph (c) may not be released 38
pursuant to this subparagraph; or 39
3. To another governmental entity in the furthe rance of 40
its official duties and responsibilities. 41
(c) Upon completion of an investigation or once an 42
investigation ceases to be active, the following information 43
received by the department shall remain confidential and exempt 44
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24 (a), Art. I of the State 45
Constitution: 46
1. All information to which another public records 47
exemption applies. 48
2. Personal information. 49
3. A computer forensic report. 50
HB 1491 2024
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4. Information that would otherwise reveal weaknesses in 51
the data security of an on line platform. 52
5. Information that would disclose the proprietary 53
information of an online platform. 54
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 55
information" means information that: 56
1. Is owned or controlled by the online platform. 57
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the online 58
platform as private because disclosure would harm the online 59
platform or its business operations. 60
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 61
private agreement that provides that the i nformation will not be 62
released to the public. 63
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 64
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 65
same configuration as received by the department. 66
5. Includes: 67
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 68
b. Competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 69
impair the competitive advantage of the online platform who is 70
the subject of the information. 71
(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 72
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 73
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 74
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 75
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Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 76
necessity that all information received by the Department of 77
Legal Affairs pursuant to a notification of a violation of s. 78
501.1737, Florida Statutes, or received by the department 79
pursuant to an investigation by the department or a law 80
enforcement agency of a violation of that section, be made 81
confidential and exem pt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and 82
s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution for the following 83
reasons: 84
(1) A notification of a violation of s. 501.1737, Florida 85
Statutes, may result in an investigation of such violation. The 86
premature release of such information could frustrate or thwart 87
the investigation and impair the ability of the department to 88
effectively and efficiently administer s. 501.1737, Florida 89
Statutes. In addition, release of such information before 90
completion of an active inv estigation could jeopardize the 91
ongoing investigation. 92
(2) Release of information to which another public records 93
exemption applies once an investigation is completed or ceases 94
to be active would undo the specific statutory exemption 95
protecting that info rmation. 96
(3) An investigation of a violation of s. 501.1737, 97
Florida Statutes, is likely to result in the gathering of 98
sensitive personal information, including identification 99
numbers, unique identifiers, professional or employment -related 100
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information, and personal financial information. Such 101
information could be used for the purpose of identity theft. The 102
release of such information could subject possible victims of 103
data privacy violations to further harm. 104
(4) Notices received by the department and in formation 105
received during an investigation of a violation of s. 501.1737, 106
Florida Statutes, are likely to contain proprietary information. 107
Such information, including trade secrets, derives independent, 108
economic value, actual or potential, from being gener ally 109
unknown to, and not readily ascertainable by, other persons who 110
might obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. Allowing 111
public access to proprietary information, including a trade 112
secret, through a public records request could destroy the val ue 113
of the proprietary information and cause a financial loss to the 114
online platform. Release of such information could give business 115
competitors an unfair advantage. 116
(5) Information received by the department may contain a 117
computer forensic report or inf ormation that could reveal 118
weaknesses in the data security of an online platform. The 119
release of this information could result in the identification 120
of vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity system of the online 121
platform and be used to harm the online platfo rm and clients. 122
(6) The harm that may result from the release of 123
information received by the department pursuant to a 124
notification or investigation by the department or a law 125
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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
enforcement agency of a violation of s. 501.1737, Florida 126
Statutes, could impai r the effective and efficient 127
administration of the investigation and thus, outweighs the 128
public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 129
information. 130
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 131
that HB 3 or similar legislation takes effect, if such 132
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 133
extension thereof and becomes a law. 134