87R9493 SCL-D
By: Cason H.B. No. 3001
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the censorship or disfavoring of political or religious
speech by a social media website.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Stop Social Media
Censorship Act."
SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
(1) this state has a compelling interest in holding
certain social media websites to higher standards for having
substantially created a digital public square; and
(2) this state has an interest in helping its
residents enjoy their free exercise of rights in certain
semi-public forums commonly used for religious and political
speech.
SECTION 3. Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 129B to read as follows:
CHAPTER 129B. SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP
Sec. 129B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Algorithm" means a set of instructions designed
to perform a specific task.
(2) "Hate speech" means a phrase concerning content
that an individual finds offensive based on the individual's moral
code.
(3) "Obscene" means material that an average person,
applying contemporary community standards, would find, taken as a
whole, has a dominant theme that appeals to prurient interests.
(4) "Political speech" means speech relating to the
state, government, body politic, or public administration as it
relates to public policymaking. The term includes speech by the
government or a candidate for public office and any discussion of
social issues.
(5) "Religious speech" means speech relating to a set
of unproven answers, truth claims, faith-based assumptions, and
naked assertions that attempt to explain questions concerning how
the world was created, what constitutes right and wrong actions by
humans, and what happens after death.
(6) "Social media website" means an Internet website
or application that enables users to communicate with other users
by posting content, including information, comments, messages, and
images.
Sec. 129B.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies only to a social media website that:
(1) is open to the public;
(2) has more than 75 million subscribers; and
(3) from its inception, has not been specifically
affiliated with a religion or political party.
Sec. 129B.003. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A social media
website user in this state who is 18 years of age or older may bring
a civil action against the owner or operator of a social media
website that purposefully:
(1) deletes or censors the user's political or
religious speech; or
(2) uses an algorithm to disfavor or censor the user's
political or religious speech.
Sec. 129B.004. REMEDIES. (a) A claimant who prevails in an
action under this chapter may recover:
(1) exemplary damages of $75,000 per purposeful action
described by Section 129B.003, regardless of whether actual damages
are awarded or the proof required by Section 41.003 is met;
(2) actual damages;
(3) other forms of equitable relief;
(4) court costs; and
(5) reasonable attorney's fees.
(b) In addition to an award under Subsection (a)(1), a
claimant who prevails in an action under this chapter may recover
additional exemplary damages in accordance with Chapter 41.
Sec. 129B.005. MITIGATION OF DAMAGES. The defendant in an
action under this chapter may mitigate damages by restoring from
deletion or removing the censorship of the claimant's speech in a
reasonable amount of time.
Sec. 129B.006. PROHIBITED DEFENSE. The defendant in an
action under this chapter may not use the claimant's alleged hate
speech as a basis for a defense of the defendant's actions.
Sec. 129B.007. ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION. The attorney
general may bring an action under this chapter against a social
media website on behalf of a social media website user who resides
in this state and whose political or religious speech has been
censored by the social media website.
Sec. 129B.008. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a social media website that deletes or censors a
social media website user's speech or that uses an algorithm to
disfavor or censor speech that:
(A) calls for immediate acts of violence;
(B) is obscene or pornographic in nature;
(C) is the result of operational error;
(D) is ordered by a court;
(E) comes from an inauthentic source;
(F) involves false personation;
(G) entices criminal conduct; or
(H) involves a minor bullying another minor; or
(2) a social media website user censoring another
social media website user's speech.
SECTION 4. Chapter 129B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.