BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3752

By: Cain

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Social media platforms have increasingly become a crucial part of modern society, serving as a medium for sharing information, connecting with others, and expressing personal opinions. However, with this enhanced power and control, big tech companies have been unafraid to censor certain viewpoints, which infringes on individual civil liberties. In response to these practices, the 87th Texas Legislature enacted legislation addressing censorship of or certain other interference with digital expression and discourse on social media platforms. This legislation afforded users the right to bring an action against a social media platform that violates the protections afforded by the legislature and authorized a user who prevails to recover declaratory and injunctive relief. H.B. 3752 seeks to build on those efforts and strengthen the rights of social media users by allowing a user who prevails in such an action to also recover up to $30,000 in statutory damages.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3752 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to entitle a social media user who proves in a civil action brought against a social media platform that the platform violated the state's social media censorship prohibitions with respect to the user to recover, in addition to existing remedies, statutory damages in an amount that is not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 for each violation. The bill makes state law relating to standards for recovery of exemplary damages and factors precluding recovery inapplicable to such an action. These bill provisions apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.