Relating to censorship of or certain other interference with digital expression, including expression on social media platforms or through electronic mail messages.
Texas Senate Bill 1626 clarifies that social media platforms operating in Texas must act as common carriers for digital expression, prohibiting discrimination in content moderation. It directly affects major social media platforms by requiring them to facilitate public debate without restricting content based on viewpoint. The bill amends the Business & Commerce Code to define "social media platform" and aims to prevent federal censorship through platforms, building on prior law H.B. 20. Its key provision mandates that platforms cannot unreasonably remove or restrict user content, ensuring equal access to digital public forums.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 25, 2025
Last action May 27, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
5 edits
·
Apr 28, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was reformatted from an introduced draft to an engrossed version with significant substantive changes to the text and structure. The core policy content regarding social media censorship remains largely the same, but there are important modifications to the definitions and enforcement provisions.
Scope change
The bill's scope was modified to include video game services as excluded content types and changed the user threshold from 50 million to 65 million active users for applicability.
DEFINITION
The definition of excluded services now includes video games and creation/playing of video games alongside banking and financial services.
ELIGIBILITY
The user threshold for the bill's applicability was increased from 50 million to 65 million active users per month.
ENFORCEMENT
A new provision was added clarifying that the bill only applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date of September 1, 2025.
Statutory damages for certain censorship violations were reduced from $100,000 to $1,000 for cases where a user's ability to receive another person's expression was censored.
TECHNICAL
The bill text was reformatted with proper spacing, line breaks, and section numbering consistent with engrossed legislative format.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 28, 2025
How they voted
24–6
Passed
Total votes 30
Apr 28, 2025
D
Democratic10
60% Nay
R
Republican20
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
30
Key actions
9
Committee
10
May 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Apr 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Apr 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Mar 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Mar 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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