A bill that would loosen defamation lawsuit restrictions has advanced in the Florida House. Though this isn’t the first time this bill has been presented, it has recently gained more support from both sides of the political aisle due to the fact that many legislators say that they, themselves, have been the target of false information spread online.
The bill was inspired by a case in which a television station continued to keep up an online article about a Miami man who had been accused of child molestation even after the charges had been dropped. It comes as no surprise that the visibility of this article led to multiple problems for this man, especially when it came to applying for jobs.
If false or outdated information such as what was published about the Miami man remains up on news outlet websites, SB 752 and HB 667, if passed, would force the news outlets to take down the content within days of notification that it has been declared false or outdated. If the outlets fail to comply, a defamation lawsuit may be the result.
However, some are concerned that SB 752 and HB 667 would promote censorship. Opponents of the bill believe news outlets should have the right to publish facts related to events that have occurred, even if charges are eventually dropped such as in the case mentioned above.
If passed, the bill would allow for defamation lawsuits to be filed up to 20 years after publication of an article.
DETAILS OF SB 752 AND HB 667
If passed, SB 752 and HB 667 would require certain articles or broadcasts to be removed from any website over which the newspaper, broadcaster, or periodical has control. This must be done within a specified time period in order to limit damages for defamation. Persons in certain positions relating to newspapers would be provided with immunity for defamation if those persons exercise due care to prevent publication or utterance of such a statement.
The bill would declare the continued appearance on any website over which the newspaper, broadcaster, or periodical has control of a published statement that has been determined to be false be deemed as a new publication of the false statement.
Those who proposed the bill say they did so with the intention of modifying the legal framework surrounding defamation claims, particularly in relation to articles and broadcasts published or aired by media outlets. The bill amends Section 770.02 of the Florida Statutes to require that defamatory articles or broadcasts published on the internet be permanently removed within a specified period of time in order to limit defamation damages to only actual damages.
Additionally, the bill revises Section 770.04 to provide immunity for media outlets if they exercise due care to prevent the publication of defamatory statements. However, if a defamatory statement is published on the internet and the outlet receives notice of its falsehood, the outlet is required to remove the statement. Failure to do so, which allows the statements to remain online, will subsequently be treated as a new publication, which resets the statute of limitations for defamation.
Overall, proponents of the bill say that it will encourage media outlets to act responsibly in preventing defamation and provide a way to limit damages if defamatory content is promptly corrected or removed.