OGSR/Social Media Platform Investigations

Florida extends privacy for platform investigation records

Effective upon becoming law, this law extends two Florida public-records privacy rules. They cover information the Attorney General receives in covered antitrust investigations and the Department receives in social media platform investigations. Both include investigations by law-enforcement agencies. While an investigation is active, the information stays confidential and unavailable through public-records requests. The receiving agency can disclose it only for its official duties or to another government entity performing official duties. After an investigation ends or becomes inactive, some information stays private: records covered by another exemption, personal identifying details, computer forensic reports, business data-security weaknesses, and qualifying private business information. Qualifying business information must be owned or controlled by the business and kept private because release would harm its business or operations. It must not have been disclosed except as required by law or under an agreement barring public release. It also must not be publicly available or readily obtainable through proper means in the same form received by the agency. This includes trade secrets and competitive information whose release would harm the business's competitive advantage. Both exemptions expire October 2, 2031, unless lawmakers review and renew them.