Bill Amendment: FL S1788 | 2024 | Regular Session

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

---

Bill Title: Social Media Use for Minors

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

Download: Florida-2024-S1788-Senate_Committee_Amendment_239384.html

---

       Florida Senate - 2024                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1788
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì239384DÎ239384                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




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