FL H0757

Defamatory articles or broadcasts published on the Internet must be permanently removed or corrected with a prominent notation within 10 days after service of notice for a publisher to limit damages to actual damages only; failure to remove a false statement after receiving notice that it has been found false triggers a new statute of limitations period and eliminates the fair reporting privilege.

Newspaper owners, licensees, operators, and their employees are granted immunity from defamation liability for statements made by third parties in broadcasts or newspaper articles, unless the complaining party proves they failed to exercise due care to prevent the publication.

Creates a "veracity hearing" mechanism (s. 770.107) allowing any party in a defamation or privacy tort action to request a court hearing within 60 days to determine whether a statement is fact or opinion and its truthfulness, with attorney fees and costs assessed against the nonprevailing party.

Establishes a rebuttable presumption that a publisher acted with actual malice when a public figure plaintiff proves a published statement is false and the publisher relied on an anonymous source for the statement.

Creates liability for any person who intentionally uses artificial intelligence to create or edit media that falsely attributes something to or misleads reasonable viewers about another person, provided the media is publicly distributed, would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and the creator had actual knowledge of or reckless disregard for the false implications.