Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs ‘Digital Bill of Rights’
- Law requires search engines to say if algorithms politically manipulated
- It is only applicable to companies with $1 billion in annual revenue
- Consumer Reports says stronger legislation is needed
FILE – A cursor moves over Google’s search engine page, Aug. 28, 2018, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law Tuesday requiring Google and other large search engines to disclose if their algorithms are politically manipulated, among other provisions.
“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,” DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday morning.
The GOP presidential hopeful continued: “They’re making money off your data, but will censor you if you say something they don’t like.”
NewsNation has reached out to Google for comment on S.B. 262, also known as the “Digital Bill of Rights.”
Senate Bill 262 gives Floridians more control over their own personal data, including the right to confirm, access and delete this data from a social platform. The Digital Bill of Rights also gives Floridians the right to know that their personal data won’t be used against them when they are buying a house, obtaining health insurance or being hired at a new job, according to DeSantis.
It is only applicable to companies making $1 billion in annual revenue that satisfy other conditions, however, which Consumer Reports argued would “leave Florida consumers’ personal information unprotected in a wide variety of contexts.”
“Notably, the law’s consumer rights do not apply to pseudonymous information, such as most online cookies, rendering the right to opt-out of targeted advertising largely meaningless,” Consumer Reports said in a statement.
Matt Schwartz, policy analyst at Consumer Reports, urged Florida legislators to look into how they can broaden the scope of S.B. 262.
“While we recognize that big tech companies are usually some of the worst privacy offenders, they are far from the only privacy offenders. This law should apply to any entity that collects significant amounts of consumer data,” Schwartz said. “It should also make it far easier for consumers to take advantage of their rights by including a universal opt-out provision.”
DeSantis previously passed Florida laws about alleged censorship by social media companies, referring to a so-called “Big Tech Crackdown” in 2021, according to WFLA.
Nine other states, including California, Montana, Indiana, Tennessee, Iowa, Connecticut, Colorado, Virginia and Utah have also enacted online privacy laws.
