ORLANDO, Fla. — Journalists and First Amendment experts on Friday slammed a bill from state Sen. Jason Brodeur that would require bloggers of all backgrounds to register with the state government if they write about certain Florida elected officials.
SB 1316, filed by the Republican this week for consideration in the session that begins Tuesday, would create a written record of whether a blogger is being paid to write a post online and who is paying them.
The bill specifically excludes those who write for “the website of a newspaper or other similar publication,” but has no stated exemption for online-only outlets or television stations and networks.
