What it means
Section 740.002 supplies the vocabulary for Chapter 740, Florida's law on fiduciary access to digital assets. A digital asset is an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest; the underlying asset or liability is excluded unless it is itself an electronic record. A custodian is a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a user's digital asset. A user is a person that has an account with a custodian.
Communications are split into two layers. The catalog identifies each person the user communicated with, the time and date, and the person's electronic address. The content is information about the substance or meaning of a communication that the user sent or received, that a custodian providing an electronic communication or remote computing service to the public holds, and that is not readily accessible to the public. An online tool is a custodian's electronic service, offered in an agreement distinct from the terms of service, that lets the user direct disclosure or nondisclosure to a third person.
- A digital asset is an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest; an underlying asset or liability is excluded unless itself an electronic record (§ 740.002(9)).
- A custodian is a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user (§ 740.002(7)).
- The catalog identifies each person the user communicated with, the time and date of the communication, and the person's electronic address (§ 740.002(4)).
- Content: substance or meaning of a user's communication, held by a custodian providing electronic communication or remote computing service to the public, not readily accessible to the public (§ 740.002(5)).
- An online tool is a custodian's service, offered in an agreement distinct from the terms-of-service agreement, for directing disclosure or nondisclosure to a third person (§ 740.002(16)).
- A fiduciary is an original, additional, or successor personal representative, guardian, agent, or trustee; a personal representative includes a person collecting property under a chapter 735 order (§§ 740.002(13), (18)).
Text of the statute (2026)
(4) “Catalog of electronic communications” means information that identifies each person with which a user has had an electronic communication, the time and date of the communication, and the electronic address of the person.
(5) “Content of an electronic communication” means information concerning the substance or meaning of the communication which: (a) Has been sent or received by a user; (b) Is in electronic storage by a custodian providing an electronic communication service to the public or is carried or maintained by a custodian providing a remote computing service to the public; and (c) Is not readily accessible to the public.
(7) “Custodian” means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user.
(9) “Digital asset” means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is itself an electronic record.
(13) “Fiduciary” means an original, additional, or successor personal representative, guardian, agent, or trustee.
(16) “Online tool” means an electronic service provided by a custodian which allows the user, in an agreement distinct from the terms-of-service agreement between the custodian and user, to provide directions for disclosure or nondisclosure of digital assets to a third person.
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 740.002.
History. s. 3, ch. 2016-46.
How it applies
The catalog and content definitions decide which section applies to a request. Content of a deceased user's communications is addressed by § 740.006, and the catalog plus other non-content assets by § 740.007. A user is a person that has an account with a custodian (§ 740.002(25)), so the chapter operates through account providers that hold or carry the user's digital assets under a terms-of-service agreement. The definition of personal representative also reaches a person entitled to collect a decedent's property under an order of summary administration, so those orders can support a request.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 740.002 does real work:
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 740.002 (2026), Online Sunshine / Florida Senate ("Digital asset" means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest.)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
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