Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Texas

Texas law defines libel by statute as a defamation in written or other graphic form that harms a living person's reputation or exposes them to public hatred, ridicule or financial injury; slander, the spoken form, is governed by case law. The Texas Supreme Court describes defamation as a tort that requires a false statement of fact published to a third party, that is defamatory about the plaintiff, made with the required degree of fault, and in some cases proof of damages.

Sources1Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.001 (elements of libel)2Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum, 554 S.W.3d 614 (Tex. 2018)

The current Texas Penal Code does not contain a criminal libel or slander offense, so a false statement that harms someone's reputation is handled through a civil lawsuit. Related online conduct, such as harassment, stalking or impersonating someone online, can still be a crime under separate Penal Code sections.

Sources2Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum, 554 S.W.3d 614 (Tex. 2018) (defamation is a tort)3Tex. Penal Code ch. 42 (disorderly conduct and related offenses)4Tex. Penal Code § 33.07 (online impersonation)

A lawsuit for libel or slander in Texas must be filed no later than one year after the claim accrues. Texas follows the single publication rule, and a federal appeals court applying Texas law has applied that rule to material posted online.

Sources5Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.002(a)6Digital Media Law Project, Texas Defamation Law

Related guide: Statute of limitations for defamation in every state

Texas splits defamation into per se and per quod. A statement is defamatory per se when it is so obviously harmful to a person's good name that a jury may presume general damages, such as loss of reputation or mental anguish; statements that injure someone in their office, profession or occupation typically fall in this group. Defamation that is not per se is per quod.

Source2Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum, 554 S.W.3d 614 (Tex. 2018)

Related guide: What defamation per se means

The Texas Citizens Participation Act lets a defendant move to dismiss a lawsuit based on their exercise of free speech, petition or association rights, generally within 60 days of being served, and discovery is suspended while the motion is pending. The court may not dismiss the suit if the plaintiff shows clear and specific evidence of a prima facie case for each element of the claim, but it must still dismiss if the defendant establishes a defense that entitles them to judgment; after a dismissal, the court must award the defendant court costs and reasonable attorney's fees and may add sanctions. The Act does not apply to several kinds of claims, including many commercial-speech, family-law, common-law fraud and bodily-injury claims.

Sources7Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 27.003, 27.005, 27.009, 27.0108Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Anti-SLAPP Legal Guide: Texas

Related guide: Anti-SLAPP laws by state

Under the Defamation Mitigation Act, a person may maintain a defamation suit only if they made a timely and sufficient written request for a correction, clarification or retraction, or the publisher has already made one; a request is timely if made within the limitations period. If a defendant was not sent a request, they can ask the court to pause (abate) the suit until 60 days after a request is served. A person who does not make the request within 90 days of learning about the publication cannot recover exemplary (punitive) damages, and a correction made under the Act also bars exemplary damages unless the statement was made with actual malice. For online content, appending the correction to the original post can satisfy the law.

Sources9Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.05510Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 73.057, 73.05911Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.062 (abatement)

Truth is a defense to libel by statute, and Texas courts also recognize substantial truth, opinion and fair comment, and a fair report privilege; by statute, newspapers and other periodicals are privileged when they publish fair, true and impartial accounts of judicial, official and other public proceedings. Statements that cannot be verified as false, or that read in context as opinion, are not actionable. Private plaintiffs must prove at least negligence, while public officials and public figures must prove actual malice, meaning the speaker knew the statement was false or recklessly disregarded whether it was.

Sources12Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.005 (truth a defense)13Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 73.002 (privileged matters)2Dallas Morning News, Inc. v. Tatum, 554 S.W.3d 614 (Tex. 2018)6Digital Media Law Project, Texas Defamation Law

Texas stalking law covers a repeated course of conduct aimed at a specific person, including conduct that counts as harassment under Penal Code § 42.07 (which covers electronic communications), when it causes the person to fear harm or feel harassed, intimidated or tormented and would affect a reasonable person the same way. Stalking is a third-degree felony, or a second-degree felony for a repeat offender.

Source14Tex. Penal Code § 42.072 (stalking)

Related guide: Cyberstalking laws explained

Texas's harassment statute makes it a crime, when done with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment or embarrass, to send repeated electronic communications likely to have that effect, or to publish repeated electronic communications on a website or social media platform likely to cause emotional distress, unless they relate to a matter of public concern. It is usually a Class B misdemeanor. Using someone's name or persona without consent to create a web page or post messages with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten is a separate offense, online impersonation, which is a third-degree felony.

Sources15Tex. Penal Code § 42.07(a)(7)-(8), (c) (harassment)4Tex. Penal Code § 33.07 (online impersonation)

Related guide: Online harassment laws explained

It is a crime in Texas to post a person's home address or telephone number on a publicly accessible website, or share it through an electronic communication, with intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to that person or their family or household. The offense is a Class B misdemeanor, or a Class A misdemeanor if someone is physically injured as a result.

Source16Tex. Penal Code § 42.074

Related guide: Is doxxing illegal?

Sharing intimate images of someone without consent and with intent to harm, when the images were expected to stay private and the disclosure identifies and harms the person, is a state jail felony in Texas, as is threatening to share such images to obtain a benefit. A separate offense covers producing or distributing sexually explicit deepfake media of a person without consent. Victims can also sue for damages under a civil statute that covers unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material.

Sources17Tex. Penal Code § 21.1618Tex. Penal Code § 21.165 (sexually explicit deep fake media)19Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 98B