Uncategorized

CORPUS CHRISTI _ A federal judge has given a big boost to Texas' anti-SLAPP statute by granting a South Texas television station's motion to dismiss and applying the state law in federal court for the first time. The state law adopted in 2011 was designed to thwart malicious or frivolous lawsuits that aim to chill free speech, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos dismissed a challenge to the anti-SLAPP statute and the argument that it was a procedural rule that conflicted with federal rules. Ramos held that the statute creates a [...]

The city of Austin is making thousands of social media records available to the public on its website in a free, searchable archive. City officials announced this week that because of Austin's "commitment to an open and transparent government" the social media archive is being offered to further the goals of the Texas Public Information Act. The archive was developed by the company ArchiveSocial and can be found at http://austintexas.gov/social. The company specializes in social media record keeping for government, regulated industries and businesses, according to the city announcement. City social media messages are continually being retrieved and archived. More than [...]