Bill Text: FL S1788 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Social Media Use for Minors

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Fiscal Policy [S1788 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S1788-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2024                             CS for SB 1788
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Grall and Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       590-02928-24                                          20241788c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to social media use for minors;
    3         creating s. 501.1736, F.S.; providing definitions;
    4         requiring social media platforms to prohibit certain
    5         minors from creating new accounts, to terminate
    6         certain accounts and provide additional options for
    7         termination of such accounts, and to use reasonable
    8         age verification methods to verify the ages of account
    9         holders; authorizing the Department of Legal Affairs
   10         to bring actions for violations under the Florida
   11         Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; providing
   12         penalties; providing for private causes of actions;
   13         providing that certain social media platforms are
   14         subject to the jurisdiction of state courts; providing
   15         that if a social media platform allows an account
   16         holder to use such platform, the parties have entered
   17         into a contract; providing construction; authorizing
   18         the department to adopt rules; providing an effective
   19         date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 501.1736, Florida Statutes, is created
   24  to read:
   25         501.1736 Social media use for minors.—
   26         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   27         (a) “Account holder” means a resident of this state who
   28  opens an account or creates a profile or is permitted to use any
   29  other form of identification to use or access a social media
   30  platform.
   31         (b) “Department” means the Department of Legal Affairs.
   32         (c) “Reasonable age verification method” means any
   33  commercially reasonable method regularly used by government
   34  agencies or businesses for the purpose of age and identity
   35  verification.
   36         (d) “Social media platform:”
   37         1. Means an online forum, website, or application offered
   38  by an entity that does all of the following:
   39         a. Allows the social media platform to track the activity
   40  of the account holder.
   41         b. Allows an account holder to upload content or view the
   42  content or activity of other account holders.
   43         c. Allows an account holder to interact with or track other
   44  account holders.
   45         d. Utilizes addictive, harmful, or deceptive design
   46  features, or any other feature that is designed to cause an
   47  account holder to have an excessive or compulsive need to use or
   48  engage with the social media platform.
   49         e. Allows the utilization of information derived from the
   50  social media platform’s tracking of the activity of an account
   51  holder to control or target at least part of the content offered
   52  to the account holder.
   53         2. Does not include an online service, website, or
   54  application where the predominant or exclusive function is:
   55         a. Electronic mail.
   56         b. Direct messaging consisting of text, photos, or videos
   57  that are sent between devices by electronic means where messages
   58  are shared between the sender and the recipient only, visible to
   59  the sender and the recipient, and are not posted publicly.
   60         c. A streaming service that provides only licensed media in
   61  a continuous flow from the service, website, or application to
   62  the end user and does not obtain a license to the media from a
   63  user or account holder by agreement to its terms of service.
   64         d. News, sports, entertainment, or other content that is
   65  preselected by the provider and not user generated, and any
   66  chat, comment, or interactive functionality that is provided
   67  incidental to, directly related to, or dependent upon provision
   68  of the content.
   69         e. Online shopping or e-commerce, if the interaction with
   70  other users or account holders is generally limited to the
   71  ability to upload a post and comment on reviews or display lists
   72  or collections of goods for sale or wish lists, or other
   73  functions that are focused on online shopping or e-commerce
   74  rather than interaction between users or account holders.
   75         f. Interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or an online
   76  service, that allows the creation and uploading of content for
   77  the purpose of interactive gaming, edutainment, or associated
   78  entertainment, and the communication related to that content.
   79         g. Photo editing that has an associated photo hosting
   80  service, if the interaction with other users or account holders
   81  is generally limited to liking or commenting.
   82         h. A professional creative network for showcasing and
   83  discovering artistic content, if the content is required to be
   84  non-pornographic.
   85         i. Single-purpose community groups for public safety if the
   86  interaction with other users or account holders is generally
   87  limited to that single purpose and the community group has
   88  guidelines or policies against illegal content.
   89         j. To provide career development opportunities, including
   90  professional networking, job skills, learning certifications,
   91  and job posting and application services.
   92         k. Business to business software.
   93         l. A teleconferencing or videoconferencing service that
   94  allows reception and transmission of audio and video signals for
   95  real time communication.
   96         m. Shared document collaboration.
   97         n. Cloud computing services, which may include cloud
   98  storage and shared document collaboration.
   99         o. To provide access to or interacting with data
  100  visualization platforms, libraries, or hubs.
  101         p. To permit comments on a digital news website, if the
  102  news content is posted only by the provider of the digital news
  103  website.
  104         q. To provide or obtain technical support for a platform,
  105  product, or service.
  106         r. Academic, scholarly, or genealogical research where the
  107  majority of the content that is posted or created is posted or
  108  created by the provider of the online service, website, or
  109  application and the ability to chat, comment, or interact with
  110  other users is directly related to the provider’s content.
  111         s. A classified ad service that only permits the sale of
  112  goods and prohibits the solicitation of personal services or
  113  that is used by and under the direction of an educational
  114  entity, including:
  115         (I) A learning management system;
  116         (II) A student engagement program; and
  117         (III) A subject or skill-specific program.
  118         (2) A social media platform shall do all of the following:
  119         (a) Prohibit a minor who is younger than 16 years of age
  120  from entering into a contract with a social media platform to
  121  become an account holder.
  122         (b)1. Use reasonable age verification methods to verify the
  123  age of each account holder on the social media platform at the
  124  time a new account is created. If an account holder fails to
  125  verify his or her age, the social media platform must deny the
  126  account. The reasonable age verification method must be
  127  conducted by a nongovernmental, independent third party that is
  128  not affiliated with the social media platform and is organized
  129  under the laws of a state of the United States and has its
  130  principal place of business in a state of the United States.
  131         2. Personal identifying information used to verify age may
  132  not be retained once the age of an account holder or a person
  133  seeking an account has been verified. Any personal identifying
  134  information collected to verify age may not be used for any
  135  other purpose.
  136         (c) For existing accounts:
  137         1. Terminate any account that is reasonably known by the
  138  social media platform to be held by a minor younger than 16
  139  years of age and provide a minimum of 90 days for an account
  140  holder to dispute such termination by verifying his or her age.
  141         2. Allow an account holder younger than 16 years of age to
  142  request to terminate the account. Termination must be effective
  143  within 5 business days after such request.
  144         3. Allow the confirmed parent or guardian of an account
  145  holder younger than 16 years of age to request the minor’s
  146  account be terminated. Termination must be effective within 10
  147  business days after such request.
  148         4. Permanently delete all personal information held by the
  149  social media platform relating to the terminated account, unless
  150  there are legal requirements to maintain such information.
  151         (3) Any violation of subsection (2) is an unfair and
  152  deceptive trade practice actionable under part II of this
  153  chapter solely by the department against a social media
  154  platform. If the department has reason to believe that a social
  155  media platform is in violation of subsection (2), the
  156  department, as the enforcing authority, may bring an action
  157  against such platform for an unfair or deceptive act or
  158  practice. For the purpose of bringing an action pursuant to this
  159  section, ss. 501.211 and 501.212 do not apply. In addition to
  160  other remedies under part II of this chapter, the department may
  161  collect a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation.
  162         (4)(a) A social media platform that violates subparagraph
  163  (2)(c)2. or subparagraph (2)(c)3. for failing to terminate an
  164  account within the required time after being notified to do so
  165  by the minor account holder or a confirmed parent or guardian is
  166  liable to such Florida minor for such access, including court
  167  costs and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.
  168  Claimants may be awarded up to $10,000 in damages.
  169         (b) A civil action for a claim under this subsection must
  170  be brought within 1 year after the violation.
  171         (5) Any action brought under subsection (3) or subsection
  172  (4) may only be brought on behalf of a Florida minor.
  173         (6) For purposes of bringing an action in accordance with
  174  subsections (3) and (4), a social media platform that allows a
  175  Florida minor younger than 16 years of age to create an account
  176  on such platform is considered to be both engaged in substantial
  177  and not isolated activities within this state and operating,
  178  conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business, and doing
  179  business in this state and is therefore subject to the
  180  jurisdiction of the courts of this state.
  181         (7) If a social media platform allows the account holder to
  182  use the social media platform, the parties have entered into a
  183  contract.
  184         (8) This section does not preclude any other available
  185  remedy at law or equity.
  186         (9) The department may adopt rules to implement this
  187  section.
  188         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.