Texas Passes Law Targeting Social Media Titans Over Viewpoint Censorship

The Texas state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that aims to curb perceived political censorship by social media companies.

The bill, introduced in the Texas Senate by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, would prohibit social media platforms from “censoring” users based on their viewpoints. “Censoring” includes actions such as removing content, banning users, demonetizing users, and suppressing posts, according to the bill.

Users able to prove they were victims of viewpoint censorship would also be permitted to sue social media companies. The bill was approved by the Texas House of Representatives on Monday, and now awaits the signature of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The legislation is similar to a previous bill introduced by Hughes in March that also sought to curb social media platforms’ alleged political censorship. Though the bill ultimately stalled in the Legislature, it drew Abbott’s support.