NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Washington, D.C. · September 30, 2008 · Libel
House passes 'libel tourism' bill
Keywords: Foreign Judgments; Libel tourism
The House of Representatives passed a bill over the weekend that would prohibit U.S. courts from enforcing foreign libel judgments that undercut First Amendment principles.
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The "libel tourism" bill, as it’s commonly referred to, grants protection to American authors and journalists who are sued for defamation in countries with weaker protection against libel laws, such as the United Kingdom.
Two libel tourism bills were introduced into the House this term. The bill that passed over the weekend is H.R. 6146, sponsored by Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Tenn). The other bill, H.R. 5814, sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-NY), went further than Cohen’s bill in not only prohibiting courts from enforcing foreign libel judgments, but also creating a cause of action for U.S. authors to file a counter suit in the United States against the foreign plaintiff.
“[Cohen’s bill] is a benchmark,” James Park, legislative counsel for Cohen, said. “We can add to it over time.”
The legislation was introduced in May but sat largely untouched all summer. With only a short time left before Congress adjourns, Cohen asked for a suspension of the rules to send the bill to the floor immediately, Park said. It passed by a unanimous voice in the House.
Both libel tourism bills were introduced as a result of a lawsuit involving New York author Rachel Ehrenfeld. She was sued in Britain by Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi Arabian businessman, for her book “Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It.”
Ehrenfeld lost the libel suit, and as a result the New York Legislature passed a law preventing state courts from recognizing foreign libel judgments.
"As our world becomes more and more interconnected, we need new laws to ensure that Americans’ First Amendment rights won’t be hindered by more restrictive, foreign mandates," Cohen said in a press statement. "I am proud that we were able to pass this common sense legislation to protect Americans from foreign courts impeding on their rights to free speech and freedom of the press this year, and I hope that the Senate realizes the urgency with which me must enact this law."
— Samantha Fredrickson, 5:57 pm
Copyright 2008 The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Comments: (1)
Comment by Rachel Ehrenfeld, Mon, Oct 27, 2008, 1:11pm
It is important to point out that Rep. Steve Cohen’s bill, is an incomplete first step. It is a much watered down version of NYS Libel Terrorism Protection Act. It “does not go as far as it could. It does not authorize writers and publishers to counter-sue for damages, as another House bill does,” as noted the NYT editorial.
Even Rep. Cohen, the author of H.R. 6146, acknowledged his bill is not enough to “ address libel tourism,” and stated on the floor of the House that he is “committed to working... to push for a public hearing... which advances additional measures to address libel tourism.”
Rep. Peter King, who initiated the federal legislation in the House, supported Cohen’s bill, but wrote in a NY Post op-ed: “HR 6146 .. does not go far enough nor does it resolve the problem of “libel tourism...[It] doesn't put an end to the problem of "libel tourism," because it doesn't provide a deterrence from these suits being filed in the first place.”
It may interest you to know, that it was not the Cohen bill, but Senator Specter’s Free Speech Protection Act 2008 (co-sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Charles Schumer), that initially obtained the support from all the free speech organizations (posted on the American Center for Democracy website).
It seems to me that a toothless law would do little to deter “libel tourist” from using the British and other foreign libel laws and courts to intimidate free speech. However, when Senator Specter's - the Free Speech Protection Act 2008 is voted into law, hopefully as soon as Congress reconvenes, American writers and publishers would be protected “when they speak in precisely the "uninhibited, robust and wide-open" manner that the First Amendment was drafted to protect.”
Rachel Ehrenfeld, Ph.D, author of “Funding Evil,” and Director
of American Center for Democracy.
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