Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 898
       
       
        
       By Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       36-00837-26                                            2026898__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to online media transparency; creating
    3         s. 501.981, F.S.; providing a short title; defining
    4         terms; requiring certain content creators to clearly
    5         and conspicuously disclose any sponsorship within any
    6         related media content; providing requirements for the
    7         disclosure; providing that failure to disclose a
    8         sponsorship constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or
    9         practice; requiring a content creator who receives
   10         sponsorship from a foreign principal of a foreign
   11         country to file a certain disclosure with the
   12         Department of State; providing requirements for such
   13         disclosure; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 501.981, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         501.981 Online Media Transparency Act.—
   21         (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Online
   22  Media Transparency Act.”
   23         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   24         (a) “Content creator” means any individual, group, or
   25  entity that produces or disseminates digital media through
   26  social media platforms, blogs, video-sharing services, podcasts,
   27  or other Internet-based communication channels for the purpose
   28  of influencing public opinion or consumer behavior.
   29         (b) “Foreign country” means a country other than the United
   30  States or any territory of the United States, including Guam,
   31  American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of
   32  Puerto Rico.
   33         (c) “Foreign principal” means any foreign government or
   34  foreign political party, or any person or entity that is
   35  established under the laws of a foreign country or has its
   36  principal place of business there. The term includes any
   37  individual who is not a United States citizen but is domiciled
   38  in the United States.
   39         (d) “Material connection” means any financial, employment,
   40  personal, or family relationship with a person or an entity
   41  pursuant to the disclosure rules, regulations, and guides of the
   42  Federal Trade Commission.
   43         (e) “Sponsorship” means any payment, gift, service, or
   44  other thing of value provided to a content creator in exchange
   45  for the promotion, endorsement, or favorable presentation of a
   46  product, service, organization, or idea.
   47         (3) DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION.—
   48         (a) Any content creator within this state who is required
   49  to disclose a material connection to a person or an entity,
   50  pursuant to the most recent rule, regulation, or guidance from
   51  the Federal Trade Commission, shall clearly and conspicuously
   52  disclose such material connection within any social media
   53  content disseminated in this state.
   54         (b) The disclosure must:
   55         1. Identify any sponsorship and indicate that the content
   56  has been sponsored or materially supported.
   57         2. Use simple and clear language.
   58         3. Be in the same language as the sponsorship.
   59         4. Use platform-specific standards so that the disclosure
   60  is visible on all devices and formats.
   61         (c) Failure to disclose a material connection as required
   62  under this subsection constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or
   63  practice under part II of this chapter.
   64         (4) FOREIGN COUNTRY SPONSORSHIP DISCLOSURE.—Any content
   65  creator who has a material connection to a foreign principal of
   66  a foreign country must file a full and public disclosure of
   67  sponsorship with the Department of State for any fiscal year he
   68  or she receives such sponsorship. Such disclosure must include
   69  all of the following information:
   70         (a) The foreign principal’s name.
   71         (b) The address of the content creator’s primary residence
   72  and all other addresses associated with the content creator.
   73         (c) A detailed statement describing the nature of the
   74  content creator’s business.
   75         (d) The total amount of such payments the content creator
   76  has received from all sponsorships from a foreign principal.
   77         (e) A detailed statement of the payments made by the
   78  foreign principal during the previous fiscal year in connection
   79  with actions taken by the content creator as an agent of, on
   80  behalf of, or in furtherance of the goals of a foreign country.
   81  The statement must identify the amount of the payment.
   82         (5) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules necessary to
   83  implement this section.
   84         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.