Governor Ron DeSantis announces proposal for Citizen Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligence

Press release from the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis

THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced a proposal to protect consumers by establishing an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights for citizens. Additionally, Governor DeSantis announced a proposal to protect Floridians from footing the bill for Hyperscale AI Data Centers and to empower local governments to reject the development of data centers in their communities.

“Today, I proposed new legislation on artificial intelligence and AI data centers to protect Floridians’ privacy, security, and quality of life,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Our AI proposal will establish an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights to define and safeguard Floridians’ rights — including data privacy, parental controls, consumer protections, and restrictions on AI use of an individual’s name, image, or likeness without consent.”

The Artificial Intelligence proposal will establish an AI Bill of Rights to provide consumers with protections:

• Re-enact protections Florida has already passed against “deep fakes” and explicit material, including those depicting minors.
• Prohibit any state or local government agency from utilizing DeepSeek or any other Chinese-created AI tools to protect American data.
• Prohibit AI from using an individual’s Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) without their consent – tie it to harm or sale of a product (political ads, schemes to defraud already in law).
• Require a notice to consumers when interacting with AI (company chatbots).
• Prohibit entities from providing “licensed” therapy or mental health counseling through artificial intelligence. This can be expanded to include use of AI to imitate a licensed professional.
• Provide parental controls for minors that will allow parents to access the conversation their child has with a large language model, set parameters for when the child can access the platform, and notify parents if their child exhibits concerning behavior.
• Ensure data inputted to AI is secure and private.
• Prohibit companies from selling or sharing personal identifying information with third parties (de-identified) and mirror data privacy protections in current law.
• Limit insurance companies from using AI for insurance claims. Require that AI cannot be used as the sole determination in adjusting or denying a claim. Insurers that use AI for claims must detail the use and allow the Office of Insurance Regulation to inspect the AI model to ensure it does not violate unfair insurance trade practices.
  

The Data Centers proposal will protect Consumers from footing the bill for AI Data Centers. The proposal will:

• Protect ratepayers — Prohibit utilities from charging Florida residents more to support hyperscale data center development, including electric, gas, and water utilities.
• Protect Taxpayers — No taxpayer subsidies for Big Tech.
• Protect Local Control — Allows local governments to prohibit data center construction/development.
• Protect Florida’s Water Resources — Ensure that water resources are not utilized to the detriment of the public.
• Protect Natural Florida — Prevent the construction, siting, or operation of a data center by foreign principals or on land classified as agricultural and/or lands under a greenbelt exemption, and require setbacks and vegetative buffers. Requires FDOT to complete noise abatement reviews to protect natural Florida from noise pollution.