Florida Set Up A Snitch Site For Businesses Not Following The Guidelines

Did your neighbor leave the house with bedhead and come back with a salon-worthy blowout? Have you seen an uptick of fresh faces visiting the beach house next door with luggage? You can now report any violations of social distancing guidelines at Florida shops on a new complaint website.

As Florida finishes its first week of Governor Ron DeSantis' phase one to reopen the state, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has unveiled this website to monitor any shops or businesses breaking executive orders.

This watchdog site allows Floridians to snitch on any local shops that have illegally opened back up or any restaurants and retail stores that are operating at maximum capacity.

On Monday, the opening of outdoor seating at restaurants and indoor retail shops resuming operations with a 25% capacity limit was underway. However, bars, gyms, vacation rentals, and hair salons were forced to remain closed during this time.

The site is not anonymous as you will need to include your name, email, and phone number, though you can opt-out of being contacted upon submission.

Those who are filing will be asked: what type of business it is, the date of the incident, the address of the business, and the reason for the complaint.

From barbering and cosmetology to the continued onsite consumption of alcoholic beverages at bars, businesses that continue to operate are at risk of being reprimanded for their failure to comply.

However, it is unclear what the penalties will be for breaking the rules.

It might be weeks before DeSantis gives the OK for the reopening of these barred businesses as he continues to take a slow, methodical approach to bring Florida back to normal.

*Cover photos for illustrative purposes only.