The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law abridging (curtailing) the freedom of the press. Thus, freedom of the press prohibits censorship by the government in the reporting of news and the publication of opinions.
In Texas, as in all states, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. This fundamental right prevents the government from imposing censorship on the media, ensuring that news reporting and opinion publication can occur without undue governmental interference. Texas state law must comply with this constitutional mandate, meaning that any state statutes or regulations that would abridge press freedom would likely be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. The Texas Constitution also reinforces this right in Article I, Section 8, which states that 'Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press.' This provision works in tandem with the First Amendment to protect the rights of the press at the state level.
