Florida Legislators Turn to Social Media and AI Regulation

McFarland was a key member in Florida’s three-year effort to pass a comprehensive privacy law, which went into effect in July. She first introduced legislation in 2020 and worked with members on what eventually became the Florida Digital Bill of Rights. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the FDBR into law in June 2023.

McFarland’s original bill included a private right of action, a provision that’s been a sticking point at the federal level. It was the most lobbied bill in the 2020 cycle, she said. Most bills introduced in Florida see about 20 lobbyists register, but about 350 registered for her bill in 2020, she said.

“It was really striking because when we filed the bill, I assumed that it would be social media companies” and advertising companies against it, said McFarland, who won her third two-year term in the Florida House in November. Groups representing grocers, insurance companies and bankers all came out in opposition.

The bill passed the House in 2021 with a private right of action, but Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fla., led passage of a Senate version without the right of action. Unable to reconcile differences between the two chambers, the bill failed. In 2023, the private right of action was dropped entirely. Bill authors also set a global gross annual revenue threshold at $1 billion, meaning the law would only apply to major companies.

“Between having done data privacy, even though it was a little bit of a watered-down version, between having done that and then having done teen social media use, I just don’t think there’s an appetite to do more” on comprehensive privacy, she said.

DeSantis in March signed HB-3, a law banning children under the age of 14 from registering social media accounts and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The tech industry is suing to block the Florida law (see 2501140043). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, are trying to set a federal minimum age of 13 for social media use with their Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which they reintroduced Tuesday. The bill includes a privacy-related provision banning targeted ads for teens. Cruz told us recently he plans to mark up the bill (see 2501240040).

McFarland said that while the Florida privacy law was pared down into something that could pass, legislators borrowed some language from the California Consumer Privacy Act. The law’s requirement for companies to update their privacy notices on an annual basis mirrors a requirement in California.

While privacy legislation isn’t a top priority at the moment, McFarland said state lawmakers are determining a path forward on AI-related issues. McFarland is a steering committee member for the Multistate AI Policymaker Working Group, a coalition of more than 200 state legislators from 47 states co-led by Connecticut Sen. James Maroney (D) (see 2501140069). Maroney and steering committee members took public feedback on AI legislation during a session Monday (see 2501270051).

McFarland said it’s been “really helpful” to see how other states are approaching the issue. Fellow steering committee members are pursuing bills in Texas, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland. “It’s definitely a benefit,” she said. “I’ve taken from the working group what I think will work in Florida, but what I’ve taken are things that I think are good ideas that are appropriate for Florida. My motivation is not to pass someone else’s bill. My motivation is to pass a good bill.”