The Florida Senate passed a bill to provide consumer protections and safeguards for vulnerable adults and minors against the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the upper chamber this week.
The bill, known as theĀ "Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights," passed 35-2 in the upper chamber, with only Sens. Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce) and Don Gaetz (R-Pensacola) voting 'No'.
Sen. Tom Leek (R-St. Augustine) sponsored the bill (SB 482) in the Senate.
"AI is a quickly emerging technology, and it's evolving on a daily basis faster than we can keep up with it. Private sector innovation has made our country the strongest nation in the history of the world. I'm not going to stand in the way of advances in technology, but transparency and accountability for how technology is used are important, especially when it comes to protecting our children," Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula) said.
"I believe people have a right to know if they are communicating with a person or a computer," Albritton added. "For example, it's not fair, and it's not moral for a computer to give advice to someone seeking mental health treatment or support. That's a job people do for people. This legislation strikes the right balance between technological evolution and transparency that protects consumers."
SB 482 includes the following consumer protections.
- Parental consent for a minor to have an account on a companion chatbox platform. The chatbox must also disclose to the user that it is AI and not human, and to take a break. Specifically, includes notifying the user every hour that dialogue with the chatbox is not human.
- The platform must have reasonable measures to prevent its companion chatbox from producing or sharing harmful material to minors.
- An AI technology company is banned from selling or disclosing personal information from a user unless the information is de-identified, or federal law allows it.
In addition, the legislation bans a person from "publishing, printing, displaying, or otherwise publicly using for trade or any commercial or advertising purpose" the name, image, and likeness of a person through generative artificial intelligence without their permission.
The bill also provides an elaborate framework for schools and other educational institutions on AI, including "definitions, parent notice, opt-outs, parent or eligible student read-only access, and construction."
Gov. Ron DeSantis previously announced the state would work with the Florida Legislature on an AI Bill of Rights in December 2025. While the effort is backed by the governor and now by the Senate, House Speaker Danny "Daniel" Perez (R-Miami) has indicated he will not bring the bill to the floor, favoring a federal path in line with President Donald Trump over state regulation.
"Artificial intelligence holds a great deal of promise but also poses novel and unique threats. Generative AI can be particularly insidious in that companion chatbots mimic human behavior and can cause children or vulnerable adults to believe they are engaging with ahuman, when it fact they are not," Leek said.
"We have heard devastating testimony from parents whose children were negatively impacted by communication with companion chatbots," Leek added. "Given the incredible pace and evolution of this technology and its widespread use by business and academia, I believe it is incumbent upon us to develop common-sense protections that safeguard Floridians, particularly children, from problematic results. Adding a parental consent requirement and intermittent reminders that you are taking to a computer, and not a human, will go a long way towards increasing the transparency of this new technology."
