A key proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at shielding Floridians from the growing power of artificial intelligence unanimously cleared its first committee hurdle Wednesday.
Called the “AI Bill of Rights,” the 23-page legislation bans companion chatbots — AI systems that mimic emotional connection — from speaking to minors without parental consent and requires bots to remind users that they are not human.
Personal data would be forbidden from being sold; people could not use AI to generate fake images or words of another without express permission; and state or local governments couldn’t use foreign-owned AI, the bill says.
“This bill is predominantly about protecting Florida’s children and vulnerable adults, as well as consumers,” bill sponsor Sen. Tom Leek, a St. Augustine Republican, said Wednesday morning.
He noted that although there’s more work to be done on the bill, his legislation is targeted toward consumer protection — “not the universe of things that could be done.” This was a response to criticism that he should also try to crack down on potential data breaches and outline protections for workers fearful that AI will take their jobs.
“So, when you see this bill next time, hopefully it will be tighter definitions and continue to be the product that it was designed to be, which is to protect children,” he added.
‘Jurassic Park’
The conversation surrounding AI has sparked hairline fractures in the GOP. On a national scale, President Donald Trump has embraced AI, forming close alliances with tech titans like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. The Department of Defense earlier this month announced that it would use an “AI first” strategy in defense systems, and integrated Musk’s chatbot Grok within the Pentagon’s networks.
Trump even signed an executive order in December invalidating certain state AI laws.
But DeSantis has offered cautionary tales against unfettered AI access. He’s toured the state for months, warning against an “age of darkness and deceit” AI could usher in. Although he’s confident Florida’s AI Bill of Rights won’t run afoul of Trump, it hasn’t stopped him from repeatedly criticizing “AI slop” and promising to protect Floridians from the technology.
SB 482 was borne of a host of suggestions pushed by DeSantis in December. Leek adopted many of these, including restrictions on AI chatbots that were “sexually grooming” children and, in some cases, encouraging suicide, as well as barring use of foreign AI services within Florida.
DeSantis suggested preventing Floridians from paying for the exorbitant energy and water consumed by AI data centers. That language has been placed into another bill, which passed its first committee on Tuesday.
The sweeping legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee, and received bipartisan commendation on its intent — although some encouraged Leek to take a closer look at protections for workers.
“Every time I think about this, I think about Jurassic Park,” said Rich Templin, AFL-CIO’s director of politics and public policy. “There was a message there. … There was a warning about technologies exactly like this. Just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should.”
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