Senate Bill 1086 (2024) — Defamation
SB 1086
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1086 By Senator Garcia 36-00575-24 20241086__ Page 1 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to defamation; creating s. 770.001, 2 F.S.; providing applicability; amending s. 770.05, 3 F.S.; providing proper venue in a county where 4 defamatory material was accessed by a third party; 5 making technical changes; creating s. 770.09, F.S.; 6 providing that publication of certain media forms the 7 basis of a defamation action; creating s. 770.11, 8 F.S.; providing a
short title; defining terms; 9 prohibiting journalists and media outlets from 10 knowingly publishing or disseminating a false 11 narrative or defamatory material about a public 12 figure; providing that quotes or soundbites out of 13 context are considered a violation; providing 14 applicability; providing an alternative standard of 15 proof for actions where the defendant does not 16 identify the source of the defamatory material or when 17 the defamatory action is unrelated to a plaintiff’s 18 status as a public figure; requiring journalists and 19 media outlets to offer public figures all conditions, 20 rights, and remedies found in law; providing 21 applicability; providing severability; providing an 22 effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26
Section
Section 770.001, Florida Statutes, is created to 27 read: 28 770.001 Definition.—As used in this chapter, an action for 29
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1086 36-00575-24 20241086__ Page 2 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. defamation includes actions for libel, slander, false 30 narratives, and related causes of action. 31
Section
Section 770.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to 32 read: 33 770.05 Venue for defamation actions Limitation of choice of 34 venue.— 35
(1) A No person may not shall have more than one choice of 36 venue for damages for libel or slander, invasion of privacy, or 37 any other tort founded upon any single publication, exhibition, 38 or utterance, such as any one edition of a newspaper, book, or 39 magazine, any one presentation to an audience, any one broadcast 40 over radio or television, or any one exhibition of a motion 41 picture. Recovery in any action includes shall include all 42 damages for any such tort suffered by the plaintiff in all 43 jurisdictions. 44
(2) Venue for a cause of action for defamation is proper in 45 a county identified in s. 47.011, including any county where the 46 defamatory material is accessed by a third party. 47
Section
Section 770.09, Florida Statutes, is created to 48 read: 49 770.09 Defamation by publication of photograph, video, or 50 audio recording.—The publication of a photograph, video, or 51 audio recording, regardless of whether altered or unaltered, may 52 form the basis of a defamation action. 53
Section
Section 770.11, Florida Statutes, is created to 54 read: 55 770.11 Defamation of public figures.— 56
(1) SHORT TITLE.—This
section may be cited as the 57 “Protection of Public Figures from False Narratives and 58
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1086 36-00575-24 20241086__ Page 3 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Defamation Law.” 59
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 60 (a) “Defamation” means a false statement that harms a 61 public figure’s reputation, including both written and spoken 62 statements.
For the purpose of the act, defamation includes 63 statements from a public figure taken out of context. 64 (b) “False narrative” means intentionally misleading or 65 inaccurate representations of a public figure’s actions, 66 statements, or character to place them in a false light. 67 (c) “Journalist” means a person regularly engaged in 68 collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, 69 reporting, or publishing news, for gain or livelihood, who seeks 70 and obtains information while working as an employee of, or 71 independent contractor for, a media outlet. 72 (d) “Media outlet” means a newspaper, news journal, news 73 agency, press association, wire service, radio or television 74 station, streaming platform, network, or news magazine. 75 (e) “Public figure” means a notable person of public 76 interest or familiarity, including, but not limited to, a 77 government official, politician, celebrity, business leader, 78 movie star, or athlete. 79
(3) PROHIBITION OF FALSE NARRATIVE AND DEFAMATION; 80 DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS; BURDENS OF PROOF.—A journalist or media 81 outlet may not knowingly publish or disseminate a false 82 narrative or defamatory material about a public figure. For the 83 purposes of this section, taking a quote or soundbite out of 84 context or out of sequence to create a false narrative, is 85 considered a violation of this section. 86 (
a) A defamatory allegation is made with actual malice for 87
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1086 36-00575-24 20241086__ Page 4 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. purposes of a defamation action if any of the following apply: 88 1. The defamatory allegation is fabricated by the 89 defendant, is the product of his or her imagination, is based 90 wholly on an unverified, anonymous report, or based on 91 statements made by the plaintiff when said out of context. 92 2. The defamatory allegation is so inherently improbable 93 that only a reckless person would put it into circulation. 94 3.
The defamatory allegation was made using the plaintiff’s 95 own words taken out of context to create a false narrative or 96 defamatory material. 97 4. The defamatory allegation was based on an informant or 98 an informant’s report, and there are obvious reasons to doubt 99 the veracity of the informant or his or her report. Obvious 100 reasons exist to doubt the veracity of a report if: 101 a. There is sufficient contrary evidence that was known or 102 should have been known to the defendant after a reasonable 103 investigation; 104 b. The informant has a history of being unreliable or 105 untruthful; or 106 c.
The report is inherently improbable or implausible on 107 its face, and is not presented as satire. 108 (
b) If the actual malice standard otherwise applies to a 109 defamation action in which the defendant does not identify the 110 source for the defamatory material, the plaintiff need only 111 prove that the defendant acted negligently in making the 112 defamatory material. 113 (
c) In a defamation action based on alleged defamatory 114 material that does not relate to the reasons for the plaintiff’s 115 status as a public figure, the plaintiff need only prove that 116
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1086 36-00575-24 20241086__ Page 5 of 5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. the defendant acted negligently in making, repeating, or 117 republishing the defamatory material. 118
(4) OBLIGATIONS OF JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA OUTLETS; REMEDIES 119 FOR PUBLIC FIGURES.—A journalist or a media outlet must afford a 120 public figure all conditions, rights, and remedies required 121 under ss. 770.01 and 770.02. 122
(5) SATIRE.—This
section does not apply to media 123 publications or journalists that present a satire or satirical 124 story regarding or involving a public figure. 125
(6) SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS.—In case any one or more of 126 the sections or provisions of this act or the application of 127 such sections or provisions to any situations, circumstances, or 128 persons shall for any reason be held to be unconstitutional, 129 such unconstitutionality shall not affect any other sections or 130 provisions of this act or the applications of such sections or 131 provisions to any other situations, circumstances, or persons, 132 and it is intended that this law shall be construed and applied 133 as if such sections or provisions had not been included herein 134 for any unconstitutional application. 135