Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3001 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R9493 SCL-D
2	2	By: Cason H.B. No. 3001
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the censorship or disfavoring of political or religious
8	8	speech by a social media website.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Stop Social Media
11	11	Censorship Act."
12	12	SECTION 2. The legislature finds that:
13	13	(1) this state has a compelling interest in holding
14	14	certain social media websites to higher standards for having
15	15	substantially created a digital public square; and
16	16	(2) this state has an interest in helping its
17	17	residents enjoy their free exercise of rights in certain
18	18	semi-public forums commonly used for religious and political
19	19	speech.
20	20	SECTION 3. Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
21	21	amended by adding Chapter 129B to read as follows:
22	22	CHAPTER 129B. SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP
23	23	Sec. 129B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
24	24	(1) "Algorithm" means a set of instructions designed
25	25	to perform a specific task.
26	26	(2) "Hate speech" means a phrase concerning content
27	27	that an individual finds offensive based on the individual's moral
28	28	code.
29	29	(3) "Obscene" means material that an average person,
30	30	applying contemporary community standards, would find, taken as a
31	31	whole, has a dominant theme that appeals to prurient interests.
32	32	(4) "Political speech" means speech relating to the
33	33	state, government, body politic, or public administration as it
34	34	relates to public policymaking. The term includes speech by the
35	35	government or a candidate for public office and any discussion of
36	36	social issues.
37	37	(5) "Religious speech" means speech relating to a set
38	38	of unproven answers, truth claims, faith-based assumptions, and
39	39	naked assertions that attempt to explain questions concerning how
40	40	the world was created, what constitutes right and wrong actions by
41	41	humans, and what happens after death.
42	42	(6) "Social media website" means an Internet website
43	43	or application that enables users to communicate with other users
44	44	by posting content, including information, comments, messages, and
45	45	images.
46	46	Sec. 129B.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
47	47	applies only to a social media website that:
48	48	(1) is open to the public;
49	49	(2) has more than 75 million subscribers; and
50	50	(3) from its inception, has not been specifically
51	51	affiliated with a religion or political party.
52	52	Sec. 129B.003. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. A social media
53	53	website user in this state who is 18 years of age or older may bring
54	54	a civil action against the owner or operator of a social media
55	55	website that purposefully:
56	56	(1) deletes or censors the user's political or
57	57	religious speech; or
58	58	(2) uses an algorithm to disfavor or censor the user's
59	59	political or religious speech.
60	60	Sec. 129B.004. REMEDIES. (a) A claimant who prevails in an
61	61	action under this chapter may recover:
62	62	(1) exemplary damages of $75,000 per purposeful action
63	63	described by Section 129B.003, regardless of whether actual damages
64	64	are awarded or the proof required by Section 41.003 is met;
65	65	(2) actual damages;
66	66	(3) other forms of equitable relief;
67	67	(4) court costs; and
68	68	(5) reasonable attorney's fees.
69	69	(b) In addition to an award under Subsection (a)(1), a
70	70	claimant who prevails in an action under this chapter may recover
71	71	additional exemplary damages in accordance with Chapter 41.
72	72	Sec. 129B.005. MITIGATION OF DAMAGES. The defendant in an
73	73	action under this chapter may mitigate damages by restoring from
74	74	deletion or removing the censorship of the claimant's speech in a
75	75	reasonable amount of time.
76	76	Sec. 129B.006. PROHIBITED DEFENSE. The defendant in an
77	77	action under this chapter may not use the claimant's alleged hate
78	78	speech as a basis for a defense of the defendant's actions.
79	79	Sec. 129B.007. ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION. The attorney
80	80	general may bring an action under this chapter against a social
81	81	media website on behalf of a social media website user who resides
82	82	in this state and whose political or religious speech has been
83	83	censored by the social media website.
84	84	Sec. 129B.008. EXEMPTIONS. This chapter does not apply to:
85	85	(1) a social media website that deletes or censors a
86	86	social media website user's speech or that uses an algorithm to
87	87	disfavor or censor speech that:
88	88	(A) calls for immediate acts of violence;
89	89	(B) is obscene or pornographic in nature;
90	90	(C) is the result of operational error;
91	91	(D) is ordered by a court;
92	92	(E) comes from an inauthentic source;
93	93	(F) involves false personation;
94	94	(G) entices criminal conduct; or
95	95	(H) involves a minor bullying another minor; or
96	96	(2) a social media website user censoring another
97	97	social media website user's speech.
98	98	SECTION 4. Chapter 129B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
99	99	as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
100	100	on or after the effective date of this Act.
101	101	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.