HB 1541 2024
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hb1541-00
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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 transparency in social media; 2
creating s. 501.20411, F.S.; providing a short title; 3
providing legislative findings; providing definitions; 4
requiring foreign-adversary-owned entities operating 5
social media platforms in the state to publicly 6
disclose specified information in a certain manner; 7
requiring foreign-adversary-owned entities operating 8
social media platforms to implement a user 9
verification system for certain entities; providing 10
penalties; requiring enforcement by the Department of 11
Legal Affairs; providing an effective date. 12
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
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Section 1. Section 501.20411, Florida Statute s, is created 16
to read: 17
501.20411 Transparency in Social Media Act. — 18
(1) This section may be cited as the "Transparency in 19
Social Media Act." 20
(2) The Legislature finds that: 21
(a) Social media platforms play a significant role in 22
shaping public discou rse and opinion. 23
(b) Algorithms used by social media platforms can 24
influence user behavior and content visibility. 25
HB 1541 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
(c) Transparency in the functioning of such algorithms and 26
in political and social advertising is vital for safeguarding 27
democratic values and user privacy. 28
(d) Ownership of social media platforms by foreign 29
entities can raise concerns regarding foreign influence and data 30
security. 31
(3) For purposes of this section, the term: 32
(a) "Algorithm" has the same meaning as in s. 501.2041(1). 33
(b) "Foreign-adversary-owned entity" means a social media 34
company that is owned or substantially controlled by nationals, 35
governments, or corporations domiciled, incorporated, or 36
otherwise holding residence in a country designated as a foreign 37
adversary under 15 C.F.R. s. 7.4. 38
(c) "Social media platform" means a public online service 39
that allows users to create and share or participate in social 40
networking. 41
(d) "Social or political advertising" means any 42
advertisement on a social media platform that d iscusses social 43
or political issues or is intended to influence public opinion 44
or electoral outcomes. 45
(4)(a) Each foreign -adversary-owned entity operating a 46
social media platform in the state must publicly disclose the 47
core functional elements of the social media platform's content 48
curation and algorithms. 49
(b) The disclosure must identify: 50
HB 1541 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
1. The factors that influence content ranking and 51
visibility. 52
2. Measures taken to address misinformation and harmful 53
content. 54
3. The process of personalization and targeting of 55
content. 56
(5) Each foreign-adversary-owned entity operating a social 57
media platform must make publicly available the source code of 58
its algorithms through an open -source license. 59
(6)(a) Each foreign -adversary-owned entity operating a 60
social media platform must implement a user verification system 61
for each user and organization that purchases advertisements 62
concerning social or political issues. The system must verify 63
key identifying information, includ ing citizenship, residency, 64
and age of the user or the individuals that own the 65
organization, as applicable. 66
(b) Once verified, the identity of the purchaser of each 67
social or political advertisement must be disclosed with the 68
advertisement. 69
(7)(a) A foreign-adversary-owned entity operating a social 70
media platform that violates this section is liable up to 71
$10,000 for each discrete violation. 72
(b) The Department of Legal Affairs shall enforce this 73
section. 74
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 75