I'm not sure if I was the intended reply, but as someone with a Beehaw account I can say that this defed is intended to be temporary and at the behest of better mod tools and better moderation of the offending instances.

Important note is that Hot is current broken in Lemmy leading to older posts getting boosted to the top in error. It's currently being worked on for the next release.

Depending on the stipulations of the bill it could result in some social media platforms completely removing themselves from Texas. Also beyond the enforcement question, what defines "social media"? Does Discord fit? What about Telegram? What about iMessage? SMS?

Ultimately, and like much of the recent GOP social legislation, this is mainly just a way to show Republican voters they're "doing" something because none of those same voters will care when this is taken up to the court system and struck down as unconstitutional. Even the article indicates this:

"Critics contend that Texas' law violates the First Amendment and the principles of limited government and individual responsibility."