Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2373 by Hughes (Relating to a cause of action for political or religious censorship of speech by a social media website.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to create a civil cause of action for a social media website's censorship of a user's religious or political speech or use of an algorithm to suppress religious or political speech. The bill further provides that it is a defense to the cause of action where censored speech calls for immediate acts of violence, is obscene or pornographic, was censored as a result of operational error, was censored as a result of a court order, came from an inauthentic source, or involved false impersonation, incited criminal conduct, or involved minors bullying minors. Based on the analysis of the Office of Court Administration, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources, and revenue increases resulting from the creation of this civil action are not anticipated to be significant.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council