Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 198
       
       
        
       By Senator Clemens
       
       
       
       
       
       27-00181-14                                            2014198__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to social media privacy; creating s.
    3         448.077, F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting an
    4         employer from requesting or requiring access to a
    5         social media account of an employee or prospective
    6         employee; prohibiting an employer from taking
    7         retaliatory personnel action for an employee’s failure
    8         to provide access to his or her social media account;
    9         prohibiting an employer from failing or refusing to
   10         hire a prospective employee who does not provide
   11         access to his or her social media account; authorizing
   12         civil actions for violations; providing for recovery
   13         of attorney fees and court costs; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 448.077, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         448.077 Employer access to employee social media accounts
   21  prohibited.—
   22         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   23         (a) “Electronic communications device” means a device that
   24  uses electronic signals to create, transmit, or receive
   25  information, including computers, telephones, personal digital
   26  assistants, and other similar devices.
   27         (b) “Retaliatory personnel action” has the same meaning as
   28  in s. 448.101.
   29         (c) “Social media account” means an interactive personal
   30  account or profile that an individual establishes and uses
   31  through an electronic application, service, or platform used to
   32  generate or store content, including, but not limited to,
   33  videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, instant messages,
   34  audio recordings, or e-mail that is not available to the general
   35  public.
   36         (2) An employer may not do any of the following:
   37         (a) Request or require an employee or prospective employee
   38  to disclose a username, password, or other means of accessing a
   39  social media account through an electronic communications
   40  device.
   41         (b) Request or require an employee or prospective employee
   42  to take an action that allows the employer to gain access to the
   43  employee’s or prospective employee’s social media account if the
   44  account’s contents are not available to the general public.
   45         (c) Take retaliatory personnel action against an employee
   46  for refusing to give the employer access to the employee’s
   47  social media account.
   48         (d) Fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee as a
   49  result of the prospective employee’s refusal to allow the
   50  employer access to the prospective employee’s social media
   51  account.
   52         (3) An employee or prospective employee may bring a civil
   53  action against an employer who violates this section in a court
   54  located in the county in which the employee or prospective
   55  employee resides or where the alleged violation occurred. Such
   56  action must be brought within 2 years after the violation
   57  occurred. The employee or prospective employee may seek
   58  injunctive relief to restrain the employer from continuing to
   59  act in violation of this section and may recover damages in an
   60  amount equal to the actual damages arising from the violation or
   61  $500 per violation, whichever is greater. An employee or
   62  prospective employee who prevails is entitled to recover court
   63  costs and reasonable attorney fees.
   64         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.