Bill Amendment: FL S1780 | 2024 | Regular Session

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses

Status: 2024-03-08 - Died in Fiscal Policy [S1780 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S1780-Senate_Committee_Amendment_882282.html

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       Florida Senate - 2024                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1780
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì882282/Î882282                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Brodeur) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 770.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         770.02 Correction, apology, or retraction by newspaper or
    8  broadcast station.—
    9         (1) If it appears upon the trial that said article or
   10  broadcast was published in good faith; that its falsity was due
   11  to an honest mistake of the facts; that there were reasonable
   12  grounds for believing that the statements in said article or
   13  broadcast were true; and that, within the period of time
   14  specified in subsection (2), a full and fair correction,
   15  apology, or retraction was, in the case of a newspaper or
   16  periodical, published in the same editions or corresponding
   17  issues of the newspaper or periodical in which said article
   18  appeared and in as conspicuous place and type as said original
   19  article or, in the case of a broadcast, the correction, apology,
   20  or retraction was broadcast at a comparable time, then the
   21  plaintiff in such case shall recover only actual damages. For
   22  purposes of this section, if such an article or a broadcast has
   23  been published on the Internet, the article or broadcast must be
   24  permanently removed from the Internet within the time period
   25  provided in paragraph (2)(a) in order to limit recovery to
   26  actual damages as provided in this section.
   27         (2) Full and fair correction, apology, or retraction shall
   28  be made:
   29         (a) In the case of a broadcast or a daily or weekly
   30  newspaper or periodical, within 10 days after service of
   31  notice.;
   32         (b) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published
   33  semimonthly, within 20 days after service of notice.;
   34         (c) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published
   35  monthly, within 45 days after service of notice.; and
   36         (d) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published less
   37  frequently than monthly, in the next issue, provided notice is
   38  served no later than 45 days prior to such publication.
   39         Section 2. Section 770.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   40  read:
   41         770.04 Civil liability of certain media outlets radio or
   42  television broadcasting stations; care to prevent publication or
   43  utterance required.—
   44         (1) The owner, licensee, or operator of a radio or
   45  television broadcasting station or a newspaper, and the agents
   46  or employees of any such owner, licensee, or operator, shall not
   47  be liable for any damages for any defamatory statement published
   48  or uttered in or as a part of a radio or television broadcast or
   49  newspaper article, by one other than such owner, licensee, or
   50  operator, or general agent or employees thereof, unless it is
   51  shall be alleged and proved by the complaining party, that such
   52  owner, licensee, operator, general agent, or employee, has
   53  failed to exercise due care to prevent the publication or
   54  utterance of such statement in such broadcasts or newspaper
   55  articles, provided, however, the exercise of due care shall be
   56  construed to include the bona fide compliance with any federal
   57  law or the regulation of any federal regulatory agency.
   58         (2) When an owner, a licensee, or an operator described in
   59  subsection (1) publishes a defamatory statement on the Internet
   60  with no knowledge of falsity of the statement and thereafter
   61  receives notice that such statement has been found in a judicial
   62  proceeding to be false, or receives notice of facts that would
   63  cause a reasonable person to conclude that such statement was
   64  false, and the owner, licensee, or operator fails to take
   65  reasonable steps to permanently remove the statement and any
   66  related report from the Internet, the continued appearance of
   67  such statement or report on the Internet after the notice shall
   68  be a new publication for purpose of the statute of limitations,
   69  and the owner, licensee, or operator shall not be entitled to a
   70  fair reporting privilege for such new publication.
   71         Section 3. Section 770.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   72  read:
   73         770.05 Limitation of choice of venue.—
   74         (1) As used in this chapter, the term “defamation or
   75  privacy tort” means libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or any
   76  other tort founded upon any single publication, exhibition, or
   77  utterance, such as any one edition of a newspaper, book, or
   78  magazine, any one presentation to an audience, any one broadcast
   79  over radio or television, any one exhibition of a motion
   80  picture, or any one publication, exhibition, or utterance on the
   81  Internet.
   82         (2) A No person may not shall have more than one choice of
   83  venue for damages for a defamation or privacy tort libel or
   84  slander, invasion of privacy, or any other tort founded upon any
   85  single publication, exhibition, or utterance, such as any one
   86  edition of a newspaper, book, or magazine, any one presentation
   87  to an audience, any one broadcast over radio or television, or
   88  any one exhibition of a motion picture. Recovery in any action
   89  shall include all damages for any such tort suffered by the
   90  plaintiff in all jurisdictions.
   91         (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, or
   92  any other statute providing for venue, when:
   93         (a) Damages for a defamation or privacy tort are based on
   94  material broadcast over radio or television, venue is proper in
   95  any county in which the material was accessed.
   96         (b) Damages for a defamation or privacy tort are based on
   97  material published, exhibited, or uttered on the Internet, venue
   98  is proper in any county in the state.
   99         Section 4. Section 770.107, Florida Statutes, is created to
  100  read:
  101         770.107 Veracity hearings in defamation or privacy tort
  102  actions.—
  103         (1) Upon motion by any party to a cause of action brought
  104  under this chapter, the court shall conduct an evidentiary
  105  hearing to determine:
  106         (a) Whether a statement is a statement of fact or an
  107  opinion.
  108         (b) The veracity of any statement of fact that constitutes
  109  the basis for the cause of action.
  110         (2) Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the court
  111  shall hear the motion within 60 days after service of the
  112  motion.
  113         (3) The court’s review of the motion shall be limited
  114  solely to determining whether a statement is a statement of fact
  115  or an opinion and the veracity of the statement of fact at issue
  116  in the underlying cause of action.
  117         (4) In ruling upon a motion for determination of veracity,
  118  the court shall issue no findings regarding the following
  119  matters at issue in the underlying cause of action:
  120         (a) Whether the statement of fact constitutes defamation
  121  per se, defamation per quod, or a privacy tort;
  122         (b) Whether the plaintiff in the cause of action qualifies
  123  as a public figure or limited public figure; or
  124         (c) Whether the defendant in the cause of action acted
  125  negligently, recklessly, intentionally, or with actual malice.
  126         (5) The court shall assess against the nonprevailing party
  127  the reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with the
  128  hearing.
  129         (6) This section applies only to actions against a
  130  newspaper or a periodical, whether in print or electronic
  131  format; a broadcast station; or an employee, an agent, or a
  132  contractor of such an entity that routinely publishes news or
  133  information of a public character or interest or value.
  134         Section 5. Section 770.11, Florida Statutes, is created to
  135  read:
  136         770.11 Presumption regarding anonymous sources when the
  137  statement made about a public figure is false.—If a public
  138  figure plaintiff can establish that a published statement is
  139  false and that the publisher relied on an anonymous source for
  140  the statement, there is a rebuttable presumption that the
  141  publisher acted with actual malice in publishing the statement.
  142         Section 6. Section 770.15, Florida Statutes, is created to
  143  read:
  144         770.15 Using artificial intelligence to place person in
  145  false light.—
  146         (1) As used in this section, the term “artificial
  147  intelligence” means the theory and development of computer
  148  systems that are designed to simulate human intelligence through
  149  machine learning and perform tasks that would normally require
  150  human involvement, such as visual perception, speech
  151  recognition, decisionmaking, and translation between languages.
  152         (2) A person who uses artificial intelligence to create or
  153  edit any form of media so that it attributes something false to
  154  or leads a reasonable viewer to believe something false about
  155  another person is subject to liability if all of the following
  156  apply:
  157         (a) The media is published, distributed, or otherwise
  158  placed before the public.
  159         (b) The false light in which the other person was placed
  160  would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
  161         (c) The person had knowledge of or acted in reckless
  162  disregard as to the false implications of the media.
  163         (3) This section incorporates the standards set forth under
  164  this chapter for defamation causes of action to the extent
  165  necessary.
  166         Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  167  made by this act to section 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a
  168  reference thereto, section 770.06, Florida Statutes, is
  169  reenacted to read:
  170         770.06 Adverse judgment in any jurisdiction a bar to
  171  additional action.—A judgment in any jurisdiction for or against
  172  the plaintiff upon the substantive merits of any action for
  173  damages founded upon a single publication or exhibition or
  174  utterance as described in s. 770.05 shall bar any other action
  175  for damages by the same plaintiff against the same defendant
  176  founded upon the same publication or exhibition or utterance.
  177         Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  178  made by this act to section 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a
  179  reference thereto, section 770.07, Florida Statutes, is
  180  reenacted to read:
  181         770.07 Cause of action, time of accrual.—The cause of
  182  action for damages founded upon a single publication or
  183  exhibition or utterance, as described in s. 770.05, shall be
  184  deemed to have accrued at the time of the first publication or
  185  exhibition or utterance thereof in this state.
  186         Section 9. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  187  made by this act to section 770.05, Florida Statutes, in a
  188  reference thereto, section 770.08, Florida Statutes, is
  189  reenacted to read:
  190         770.08 Limitation on recovery of damages.—No person shall
  191  have more than one choice of venue for damages for libel founded
  192  upon a single publication or exhibition or utterance, as
  193  described in s. 770.05, and upon his or her election in any one
  194  of his or her choices of venue, then the person shall be bound
  195  to recover there all damages allowed him or her.
  196         Section 10. If any provision of this act or its application
  197  to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
  198  does not affect other provisions or applications of this act
  199  which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
  200  application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
  201  severable.
  202         Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
  203  
  204  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  205  And the title is amended as follows:
  206         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  207  and insert:
  208                        A bill to be entitled                      
  209         An act relating to defamation, false light, and
  210         unauthorized publication of name or likenesses;
  211         amending s. 770.02, F.S.; requiring that certain
  212         articles or broadcasts be removed from the Internet
  213         within a specified period to limit damages for
  214         defamation; amending s. 770.04, F.S.; providing
  215         persons in certain positions relating to newspapers
  216         with immunity for defamation if such persons exercise
  217         due care to prevent publication or utterance of such a
  218         statement; requiring removal of defamatory statements
  219         from the Internet in certain circumstances; amending
  220         s. 770.05, F.S.; defining the term “defamation or
  221         privacy tort”; providing venue for damages for a
  222         defamation or privacy tort based on material broadcast
  223         over radio or television; providing venue for damages
  224         for a defamation or privacy tort based on material
  225         published, exhibited, or uttered on the Internet;
  226         creating s. 770.107, F.S.; requiring the court to
  227         conduct an evidentiary hearing upon motion by any
  228         party to a cause of action; specifying determinations
  229         to be made on such a motion; providing the timeframe
  230         for a hearing on such motions; limiting the court’s
  231         review of such a motion; specifying that a certain
  232         finding may not be made in ruling on such a motion;
  233         requiring the court to assess against the
  234         nonprevailing party reasonable attorney fees and costs
  235         for such hearing; providing applicability; creating s.
  236         770.11, F.S.; providing a rebuttable presumption that
  237         a publisher of a false statement acted with actual
  238         malice in certain circumstances; creating s. 770.15,
  239         F.S.; defining the term “artificial intelligence”;
  240         providing that a person who uses artificial
  241         intelligence to create or edit any form of media in a
  242         certain manner is subject to liability in certain
  243         circumstances; incorporating certain standards;
  244         reenacting ss. 770.06, 770.07, and 770.08, F.S.,
  245         relating to adverse judgment in any jurisdiction as a
  246         bar to additional action, cause of action and time of
  247         accrual, and limitation on recovery of damages,
  248         respectively, to incorporate the amendment made to s.
  249         770.05, F.S., in references thereto; providing for
  250         severability; providing an effective date.