Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs ‘Digital Bill of Rights’ into law. Here’s what that means

SB 262 gives Floridians right to ‘control personal data’

WILDWOOD, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed the “Digital Bill of Rights” into law during a news conference in Central Florida.

DeSantis signed SB 262, which would give Floridians the right to “control personal data,” in Wildwood.

“We want to make sure that we’re providing protection for Floridians to speak their mind on these platforms, making sure that their data isn’t monetized without their consent, making sure that government is not colluding with these companies to try to stifle speech, like we’ve seen in recent history,” he said.

The bill provides the following to Floridians:

  • The right to control personal data, including the right to confirm, access, and delete your personal data from a social platform.
  • The right to know that your personal data will not be used against you when purchasing a home, obtaining health insurance, or being hired.
  • The right to know how internet search engines manipulate search results.
  • The right to opt out of having personal data sold.
  • The right to protect children from personal data collection.

SB 262 also protects biometric data and geolocation information from Big Tech companies and would require Google and other search engines in Florida to “disclose whether they prioritize search results based on political or ideological views or monetary consideration.”

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“This empowers Floridians. You are not just going to be at the mercy of a big brother, kind of looking over everything you do and collecting all the information about you without your consent. And so I hope people will avail themselves of these protections, and I think it’ll make a positive difference for freedom in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

The governor did not take any questions following the bill-signing.

This news conference comes amid an investigation into whether DeSantis was behind a flight that picked up asylum-seekers on the Texas border and flew them — apparently without their knowledge — to California’s capital, even as faith-based groups scrambled to find housing and food for them.


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About the Author:

Brenda Argueta is a digital journalist who joined ClickOrlando.com in March 2021. She is the author of the Central Florida Happenings newsletter that goes out every Thursday.

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