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SPEECH Act Passes U.S. Senate by Unanimous Consent - July 20, 2010 - Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, Founder of the Movement Against Libel Tourism, Lauds Senate Leadership for Passing Bipartisan HR 2765 (as amended by the Leahy-Sessions SPEECH Act) by Unanimous Consent

Senate Committee Debates Libel Tourism Law 2010-02-23 The Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing Tuesday morning voiced support for legislation that would attempt to deter foreign libel lawsuits against American authors and publishers but left the door open to further negotiation about specific legislative action.

Free Speech Protection Act of 2009 , S. 449, Introduced by Senators Arlen Specter, Joseph Lieberman and Charles Schumer, on February 13, 2009. Co-Sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden.

A Federal Law is Needed to Deter Libel Tourism. By Daniel J. Kornstein
On June 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to prohibit recognition and enforcement of foreign defamation judgments (H.R. 2765). Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), who sponsored the bill, stated the bill was the "strongest constitutionally sound policy in response to libel tourism."
But Cohen’s bill is insufficient to deal effectively with the problem of libel tourism. “It is a step in the right direction,” says the Association of American Publishers (AAP), in a letter to Congress, but “it does not go far enough.”... read more

Effective July 1, 2009, Bill Shields Floridians from Libel Suits Filed by Terrorists, Other Foreigners
Click here to view Details

June 25, 2009 Florida Bill Approved
...Bill (HB 949) Crist signed into law Thursday, is aimed at stopping “libel tourism.” Sponsors of the bill said defamation lawsuits have been filed in other countries against authors who have been critical of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda. The bill allows Florida courts to essentially ignore those lawsuits.

HB 949 Chief Sponsor: Charles E. Van Zant
Grounds for Nonrecognition of Foreign Defamation Judgments: Provides that out-of-country foreign judgment need not be recognized in defamation judgment obtained in jurisdiction outside U.S. unless court in this state determines that foreign defamation law provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech & press as in this state; provides that courts of this state have personal jurisdiction over person who obtains judgment in defamation proceeding outside U.S. against person residing in or with property in this state to determine whether foreign defamation judgment should be deemed nonrecognizable; provides for retroactive application.

05/18/09
New Jersey Bill S.1643 permits NJ courts to not enforce defamation judgments from foreign countries under certain circumstances.
Click here to view Details

Story here

Florida passed the Libel Protection Bill, May 4,2009
Sen. Aronberg and Rep. Van Zant’s legislation was approved by the full Florida Legislature. Click here to view the final language.

SENATE BILL 320
CA SB 320 Fact Sheet April 28, 2009
California Anti-Libel Tourism Act
Author - Senator Ellen M. Corbett
Summary
People who could never win a libel lawsuit in California or the United
States are suing in libel-friendly countries like the United Kingdom and
gaining default judgments against Americans. Because of international
treaties and comity of law, U.S. courts must generally recognize and enforce
these judgments. SB 320 would prohibit state courts from enforcing a
defamation judgment obtained in a foreign jurisdiction, unless the court
determines the defamation law applied in the case provided at least as much
protection for freedom of expression as offered by the U.S. and California
Constitution.
Problem
Californians have strong protections to speak freely. The First Amendment,
the California Constitution and California’s Anti-SLAPP law give authors,
journalists, activists and regular citizens the right to speak their mind
without fear of being hit by an abusive lawsuit.
Speech rights are threatened by abusive lawsuits brought in libel-friendly
foreign jurisdictions. British libel law, for example, presumes a statement
is false and places the burden of truth on the defendant.
Britain has become a jurisdictional hub for the rich and famous, such as
Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz. Bin Mahfouz, a billionaire Saudi entrepreneur,
sued Rachel Ehrenfeld -- an Israeli-born writer living in the United States
– in London for her book, Funding Evil, which accused Bin Mahfouz of
financing Islamic terrorist groups.
Ehrenfeld’s book was not published in London, but Bin Mahfouz was able to
establish jurisdiction because 23 copies of the book were purchased there
online. Ehrenfeld determined not to submit to the court’s jurisdiction and
Bin Mahfouz was awarded a $225,000 default judgment.
Solution
The California Anti-Libel Tourism Act would amend the Uniform
Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition law to allow a court to not
recognize a money judgment obtained in a foreign jurisdiction unless it
first determines that the defamation law applied in the foreign court’s
adjudication provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and
the press as would be provided by both the U.S. and California
Constitutions.
The bill would give a court of this state personal jurisdiction over a
person who obtains a foreign defamation judgment against any person who is a
resident of California, or is a person or entity amenable to jurisdiction in
California, for the purposes of rendering declaratory relief with respect to
that person's liability for the judgment, or for the purpose of determining
whether the judgment should be deemed non-recognizable pursuant to the act.
Support
California Newspaper Publishers Association (Sponsor)
California First Amendment Coalition
American Book Sellers Foundation for Free Expression
Californians Aware
American Civil Liberties Union

Contact: Lynda Gledhill (916) 651-4010

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Representative Charles E. Van Zant (R-Keystone Heights) lauded the unanimous passage of House Bill (HB) 949 by the Florida House of Representatives.

The measure relates to grounds for non-recognition of foreign defamation judgments. This legislation closely resembles a similar law that was passed nearly a year ago by the New York Legislature.
HB 949, like the law passed in New York, will help in the fight against a tactic known as “Libel Tourism” which results from defamation lawsuits filed against authors critical of individuals with known ties to terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Hamas. The lawsuits have been finding their way into foreign courts.

HB 949 will provide Florida courts with the ability not to recognize a foreign judgment, if that country’s laws protecting free speech and the free press are not at least as protective as freedoms provided in the constitutions of Florida and United States. “This bill protects all Floridians’ fundamental right to the freedom of speech and press without fear of reprisal from foreign courts,” said Representative Van Zant, the bill’s sponsor. “Political speech is a right we as Americans and Floridians hold dear. This law will ensure that no Floridian will ever have to answer to terrorists as a result of their criticism of terrorism, or its enablers.” House Majority Leader, Adam Hasner (R-Boca Raton) added, “This bill protects Floridians from having their right to free speech suppressed by those with radical ideologies. Foreign courts that do not place the same value on our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech will no longer be used to intimidate Florida citizens.”

The bill’s companion, Senate Bill 1066, will be considered in the Senate Rules Committee before heading to the Senate floor for final passage.

SPRINGFIELD - "Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are two protections guaranteed to us by way of the United States Constitution that we should strive to uphold," said State Senator Ira I. Silverstein (D – Chicago). Silverstein’s remarks relate to the introduction of Senate Bill 2722 which will commonly be referred to as the "Libel Terrorism Protection Act." Silverstein said that Senate Bill 2722 would primarily work to protect the rights of journalists, publishers, and other members of the press but could be applicable to any Illinois resident.

Senate Bill 2722 ensures that Illinois courts have personal jurisdiction over foreign defamation judgments provided that the publication at issue was published in Illinois. "Essentially, Illinois courts would be prohibited from enforcing any defamation judgment made on a person in a country whose free speech and free press protections were not as strong as those provided by the U.S. and state Constitutions," said Silverstein. "I saw a need for such legislation after reading and researching a story regarding an American author who was prosecuted in a libel lawsuit that took place in Britain."

Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, an Israeli-American scholar and internationally-recognized counterterrorism expert, recently wrote a book titled, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It," in which she identified Khalid bin Mahfouz as a leading terrorism financer. Mahfouz then chose to sue Ehrenfeld for libel in England which essentially mandates that the defendants must shoulder the burden of proof – a process that is not reflective of United States’ court proceedings. Since 23 copies of her book had been bought over the Internet in England, Britain declared that they had jurisdiction over the case. Britain has no equivalent freedoms of speech and press and thus is a popular place for these types of libel cases. The bill, which was patterned after legislation recently passed through the New York Legislature, passed the Senate Judiciary-Civil Law committee today unanimously before being reported to the Senate floor.

"Assemblyman Rory Lancman took the lead on this deserving issue in New York earlier this year and it is something that needs to be considered nationwide," said Silverstein. "Allowing journalists to accurately report terrorism issues is a small component of the many freedoms we are all afforded by the First Amendment. This law is needed to protect our given rights as American citizens going forward."

Illinois enacted the bill in August 2008.

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