In 2021, Texas made headlines by passing House Bill 20, a pioneering piece of legislation that stood up to Big Tech censorship. Authored by Rep. Briscoe Cain and Senator Bryan Hughes, HB 20 affirmed what many Texans already knew—that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter had become the new public square, and the voices of everyday Americans were being selectively silenced by unelected tech elites.
That bill gave Texans the right to sue if they were censored for their political viewpoints. It was a critical step forward. But it didn’t go far enough.
HB 20 only offered an injunction as a remedy. In other words, if you were deplatformed or shadow-banned for expressing a viewpoint someone didn’t like, you could ask a court to order the platform to stop—but you’d be on the hook for the entire legal bill, with no way to recover the cost of fighting back.
Now, some critics say this fight is yesterday’s news. Elon Musk owns Twitter (now X). Zuckerberg has dialed back some of his platform’s censorship policies. So what’s the problem?
As Senator Hughes reminded the committee this week, “The political winds blow.” The current pause in censorship is driven by politics—not principle. There’s nothing stopping these massive platforms from quietly resuming content discrimination the moment it becomes convenient or profitable. And when that happens, Texans deserve to be protected.
That’s why SB 1626, again authored by Senator Hughes and carried in the House by Representative Richard Hayes, is so important. This bill strengthens HB 20 by allowing Texans to recover statutory damages—$100,000 if their own speech is censored and $1,000 if they’re prevented from receiving others’ viewpoints. Just as importantly, it ensures attorney’s fees can be recovered, removing one of the biggest obstacles to justice.
As Hughes explained in Monday’s hearing: “The user has been harmed… and so part of [this bill] is making that person whole as far as attorney’s fees would go. In some cases, [attorney’s fees] are awarded as a penalty… another way we incentivize [companies] to do the right thing.”
And for those worried about frivolous lawsuits, Hughes reassured committee members that “it all has to go through a judge, it all has to go through a jury, so there are protections in place.”
During the hearing, David Dunmoyer of the Texas Public Policy Foundation emphasized that this isn’t just about corporate policy—it’s about government accountability. “The federal government has massively used the dominant social media platforms to abridge the freedom of speech,” he noted, citing the bill’s findings. “This bill… ensures redress of grievances is accessible for everyday Texans.”
At its core, SB 1626 is about restoring balance. Free speech doesn’t belong to the left or the right—it belongs to all Texans. And whether it’s today, tomorrow, or years down the road, the threat of political viewpoint discrimination isn’t going away.
Senator Bryan Hughes and Representative Richard Hayes deserve our thanks for continuing to lead on this issue. They’re not just defending conservative speech—they’re defending the First Amendment itself. SB 1626 gives Texans the tools they need to hold powerful platforms accountable, deter future censorship, and ensure the digital town square remains open to all.
Let’s pass it—and show the nation that in Texas, we still believe in free speech.
Ron Yokubaitis is cofounder and co-CEO of Golden Frog and Data Foundry. Yokubaitis and his wife, Carolyn, also co-founded Texas.net, one of the first 50 internet service providers in the United States. Ron holds a bachelor of science and a juris doctor from the University of Houston, where he served on the law review.