Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Targeting Pandemic Scams
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - In a priority of House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill aimed at cracking down on people who run scams about vaccines and personal protective equipment during pandemics.
DeSantis announced Tuesday evening that he had signed the bill (HB 9), which passed the House and Senate unanimously during the spring legislative session.
Supporters said the bill stemmed from people using authentic-looking websites to run scams that purportedly offered access to COVID-19 vaccines or personal protective equipment.
The bill would lead to felony charges for people who run the scams and would authorize the attorney general to seek injunctions to shut down websites or other platforms that are used to spread fraudulent information.
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