No Data Breach Immunity In Florida After Governor Vetoes Bill

In a surprising turn of events, Governor DeSantis vetoed Florida's Cybersecurity Incident Liability Act, HB 473. As explained in our prior alert, that bill would have provided immunity from civil liability to companies that suffered a data breach if they met certain conditions. The Governor's decision underscores the necessity for Florida companies to maintain robust cybersecurity measures.

On June 26, 2024, Governor DeSantis formally vetoed the legislation. In doing so, he provided a letter that revealed his rationale. He began by noting that that HB 473 would provide "broad liability protections for state and local governments and private companies." He took issue with the bill, however, because those governments and companies only had to "substantially comply with minimum cybersecurity standards in the event of a data breach or other cybersecurity event."