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THE BILL ITSELF

SB 898

Online Media Transparency

VERSION S 898 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

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.
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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.