Florida House and Senate Propose New Privacy Act

On January 7, 2022, Florida Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Dist. 5) introduced Florida Senate Bill 1864, titled the “Florida Privacy Protection Act” (“FPPA”). This bill is the 2022 version of the same bill he proposed in 2021, which would be implemented by Florida House Bill 969 (HB 969).

Pursuant to Florida Senate Bill 1864:

• Consumers have the right to delete or correct any of their information before the sale of their information to a third party and the businesses must have sufficient internal controls to do so;

• A failure to comply with a consumer's request to delete or correct their information following a consumer request to do so or continuing to sell a consumer’s personal information in violation of the act will result in enforcement by the Department of Legal Affairs under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; and

• The sale of personal information of consumers younger than 13 will be prohibited and the sale of personal information for consumers between 13 and 16 must be done only after the express authorization from the consumer or the consumer’s parent or guardian.

Although the Bill is a renewed version the 2021 bill, some policy changes have been implemented.

• The current version of the bill does not contain a private right of action for consumers to sue companies that do not comply with data collection requirements or provision of consumer rights.

• The current version permits Florida consumers to opt out of a business’s sale of personal information for one year.

• The current version requires the creation of a Consumer Data Privacy Unit as a part of the Florida Attorney General’s Office to enforce the FPPA.

Additionally, on January 11, 2022, Florida Representative McFarland proposed HB 9, relating to consumer data privacy. That bill is reportedly a re-introduction of HB 969, which he introduced in 2021.

HB 9would require that:

• Businesses provide consumers with notice regarding data collection, sharing, & selling practices;

• Consumers have the right to request data be disclosed, deleted, or corrected; and

• Consumers have the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information to third parties.

The key differences between HB 969 and HB 9 are similar to those found in the senate bill—a reduced, or in some circumstances severely limited, private right of action and a requirement for annual reports to the Attorney General’s office.

With these two Florida laws being re-introduced, businesses should be aware that many states are continuing to push enhanced privacy legislation and are not being deterred by the necessity of multiple attempts to get their efforts passed. This resilient effort on the part of several states evidences a shift in policy across the country.