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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a cause of action for political or religious censorship |
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of speech by a social media website. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is |
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amended by adding Chapter 73A to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 73A. CENSORSHIP OF ONLINE SPEECH |
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Sec. 73A.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Algorithm" means a set of instructions designed |
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to perform a specific task. |
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(2) "Hate speech" means a phrase concerning content |
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that a person finds offensive based on his or her personal moral |
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code. |
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(3) "Obscene" means content that to the average |
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person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant |
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theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest, |
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and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific |
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value. |
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(4) "Political speech" means speech relating to the |
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state, government, body politic, public administration, or |
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government policymaking, including speech by the government or |
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candidates for office, and any speech relating to social issues. |
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The term does not include speech concerning the administration of |
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or the law relating to the civil aspects of government. |
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(5) "Social media website" means a website or |
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application that enables users to communicate with each other by |
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posting information, comments, messages, or images and that: |
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(i) is open to the public; |
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(ii) has more than seventy-five million |
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users; and |
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(iii) has not been specifically affiliated |
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with any one religion or political party from its inception. |
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Sec. 73A.02. CAUSE OF ACTION. A social media website user |
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may bring a cause of action against the owner or operator of a |
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social media website with users in this state if the social media |
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website purposely: |
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(1) censors a social media website user's religious or |
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political speech; or |
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(2) uses an algorithm to suppress religious or |
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political speech. |
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Sec. 73A.03. DEFENSE. (a) It is a defense to a cause of |
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action brought under this section that the censored speech calls |
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for immediate acts of violence, is obscene or pornographic in |
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nature, was censored as a result of operational error, was censored |
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as a result of a court order, came from a inauthentic source or |
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involved false impersonation, incited criminal conduct, or |
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involved minors bullying minors. |
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(b) It is not a defense to a cause of action brought under |
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this section that the social media website user's speech was hate |
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speech. |
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Sec. 73A.04. DAMAGES. (a) A social media website user may be |
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awarded damages not to exceed $75,000 for each purposeful censoring |
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or suppression of the social media user's speech. |
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(b) A social media website user may recover reasonable |
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attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the action. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a claim that arises on |
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or after the effective date of this Act. A claim that arises before |
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the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at |
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that time, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |