The U.S. House Passes A Libel Tourism Law

The Association of American Publishers issued a press release on Monday:

The Association of American Publishers cheered the passage of legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives late Saturday that would make it harder for “libel tourists” to threaten American authors and publishers with foreign libel suits aimed at undermining their First Amendment rights.

The bill, H.R. 6146, . . . would prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing a foreign defamation judgment “based upon a publication concerning a public figure or a matter of public concern” unless the court determines that the foreign judgment satisfies the free speech and free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment. H.R. 6146 is substantially similar to the Libel Terrorism Protection Act adopted earlier this year by New York State. The Senate has yet to take action on libel tourism legislation . . .

AAP President and CEO Pat Schroeder expressed thanks on behalf of the publishing industry to members of Congress for focusing attention on the serious problem of libel tourism . . . “Libel tourism is an insidious threat. It seeks to intimidate and silence American authors and deprive us of vital information on issues of public concern. I hope we can build on H.R. 6146 with hearings in the new Congress that will shine a light into this dark corner,” . . .