Republican state senator Jason Brodeur of Florida has proposed a new bill that would require bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his Cabinet officers, and members of the Florida legislature to register with the state.
Senate Bill 1316 proposed that bloggers who receive compensation for their posts would have to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics. However, the requirement would not apply to the websites of newspapers or similar sites.
According to the proposed “Information Dissemination” bill, if a blogger writes about an elected state officer and receives compensation for that post, they must register with the appropriate office within five days after the first 164 by the blogger which mentions an elected state officer. If the blogger posts additional articles about elected state officers, they would have to file monthly reports detailing where, when, and by whom the post was published, as well as the amount of compensation received. Failure to file reports could result in fines.
The proposed bill covers elected state officers, including “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature.”
A blog is defined in the bill as “a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content,” and a blog post as “an individual webpage on a blog which contains an article, a story, or a series of stories.”
Critics of the bill have raised concerns about the potential impact on free speech and the chilling effect it could have on bloggers who cover elected officials in the state. However, supporters of the bill argue that it would provide greater transparency and accountability in the online world.
It remains to be seen whether the proposed bill will be passed into law.
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