[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2765 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.2765

                      One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten


                                 An Act


 
   To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit recognition and 
    enforcement of foreign defamation judgments and certain foreign 
    judgments against the providers of interactive computer services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing the Protection of our 
Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act'' or the ``SPEECH 
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) The freedom of speech and the press is enshrined in the 
    first amendment to the Constitution, and is necessary to promote 
    the vigorous dialogue necessary to shape public policy in a 
    representative democracy.
        (2) Some persons are obstructing the free expression rights of 
    United States authors and publishers, and in turn chilling the 
    first amendment to the Constitution of the United States interest 
    of the citizenry in receiving information on matters of importance, 
    by seeking out foreign jurisdictions that do not provide the full 
    extent of free-speech protections to authors and publishers that 
    are available in the United States, and suing a United States 
    author or publisher in that foreign jurisdiction.
        (3) These foreign defamation lawsuits not only suppress the 
    free speech rights of the defendants to the suit, but inhibit other 
    written speech that might otherwise have been written or published 
    but for the fear of a foreign lawsuit.
        (4) The threat of the libel laws of some foreign countries is 
    so dramatic that the United Nations Human Rights Committee examined 
    the issue and indicated that in some instances the law of libel has 
    served to discourage critical media reporting on matters of serious 
    public interest, adversely affecting the ability of scholars and 
    journalists to publish their work. The advent of the internet and 
    the international distribution of foreign media also create the 
    danger that one country's unduly restrictive libel law will affect 
    freedom of expression worldwide on matters of valid public 
    interest.
        (5) Governments and courts of foreign countries scattered 
    around the world have failed to curtail this practice of permitting 
    libel lawsuits against United States persons within their courts, 
    and foreign libel judgments inconsistent with United States first 
    amendment protections are increasingly common.
SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION JUDGMENTS.
    (a) In General.--Part VI of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

                    ``CHAPTER 181--FOREIGN JUDGMENTS

``Sec.
``4101. Definitions.
``4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments.
``4103. Removal.
``4104. Declaratory judgments.
``4105. Attorney's fees.

``Sec. 4101. Definitions
    ``In this chapter:
        ``(1) Defamation.--The term `defamation' means any action or 
    other proceeding for defamation, libel, slander, or similar claim 
    alleging that forms of speech are false, have caused damage to 
    reputation or emotional distress, have presented any person in a 
    false light, or have resulted in criticism, dishonor, or 
    condemnation of any person.
        ``(2) Domestic court.--The term `domestic court' means a 
    Federal court or a court of any State.
        ``(3) Foreign court.--The term `foreign court' means a court, 
    administrative body, or other tribunal of a foreign country.
        ``(4) Foreign judgment.--The term `foreign judgment' means a 
    final judgment rendered by a foreign court.
        ``(5) State.--The term `State' means each of the several 
    States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, 
    or possession of the United States.
        ``(6) United states person.--The term `United States person' 
    means--
            ``(A) a United States citizen;
            ``(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
        the United States;
            ``(C) an alien lawfully residing in the United States at 
        the time that the speech that is the subject of the foreign 
        defamation action was researched, prepared, or disseminated; or
            ``(D) a business entity incorporated in, or with its 
        primary location or place of operation in, the United States.
``Sec. 4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments
    ``(a) First Amendment Considerations.--
        ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
    Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or 
    enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court 
    determines that--
            ``(A) the defamation law applied in the foreign court's 
        adjudication provided at least as much protection for freedom 
        of speech and press in that case as would be provided by the 
        first amendment to the Constitution of the United States and by 
        the constitution and law of the State in which the domestic 
        court is located; or
            ``(B) even if the defamation law applied in the foreign 
        court's adjudication did not provide as much protection for 
        freedom of speech and press as the first amendment to the 
        Constitution of the United States and the constitution and law 
        of the State, the party opposing recognition or enforcement of 
        that foreign judgment would have been found liable for 
        defamation by a domestic court applying the first amendment to 
        the Constitution of the United States and the constitution and 
        law of the State in which the domestic court is located.
        ``(2) Burden of establishing application of defamation laws.--
    The party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign 
    judgment shall bear the burden of making the showings required 
    under subparagraph (A) or (B).
    ``(b) Jurisdictional Considerations.--
        ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
    Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or 
    enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court 
    determines that the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the 
    foreign court comported with the due process requirements that are 
    imposed on domestic courts by the Constitution of the United 
    States.
        ``(2) Burden of establishing exercise of jurisdiction.--The 
    party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign judgment 
    shall bear the burden of making the showing that the foreign 
    court's exercise of personal jurisdiction comported with the due 
    process requirements that are imposed on domestic courts by the 
    Constitution of the United States.
    ``(c) Judgment Against Provider of Interactive Computer Service.--
        ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
    Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or 
    enforce a foreign judgment for defamation against the provider of 
    an interactive computer service, as defined in section 230 of the 
    Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) unless the domestic 
    court determines that the judgment would be consistent with section 
    230 if the information that is the subject of such judgment had 
    been provided in the United States.
        ``(2) Burden of establishing consistency of judgment.--The 
    party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign judgment 
    shall bear the burden of establishing that the judgment is 
    consistent with section 230.
    ``(d) Appearances Not a Bar.--An appearance by a party in a foreign 
court rendering a foreign judgment to which this section applies shall 
not deprive such party of the right to oppose the recognition or 
enforcement of the judgment under this section, or represent a waiver 
of any jurisdictional claims.
    ``(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to--
        ``(1) affect the enforceability of any foreign judgment other 
    than a foreign judgment for defamation; or
        ``(2) limit the applicability of section 230 of the 
    Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) to causes of action for 
    defamation.
``Sec. 4103. Removal
    ``In addition to removal allowed under section 1441, any action 
brought in a State domestic court to enforce a foreign judgment for 
defamation in which--
        ``(1) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State different from any 
    defendant;
        ``(2) any plaintiff is a foreign state or a citizen or subject 
    of a foreign state and any defendant is a citizen of a State; or
        ``(3) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State and any defendant 
    is a foreign state or citizen or subject of a foreign state,
may be removed by any defendant to the district court of the United 
States for the district and division embracing the place where such 
action is pending without regard to the amount in controversy between 
the parties.
``Sec. 4104. Declaratory judgments
    ``(a) Cause of Action.--
        ``(1) In general.--Any United States person against whom a 
    foreign judgment is entered on the basis of the content of any 
    writing, utterance, or other speech by that person that has been 
    published, may bring an action in district court, under section 
    2201(a), for a declaration that the foreign judgment is repugnant 
    to the Constitution or laws of the United States. For the purposes 
    of this paragraph, a judgment is repugnant to the Constitution or 
    laws of the United States if it would not be enforceable under 
    section 4102 (a), (b), or (c).
        ``(2) Burden of establishing unenforceability of judgment.--The 
    party bringing an action under paragraph (1) shall bear the burden 
    of establishing that the foreign judgment would not be enforceable 
    under section 4102 (a), (b), or (c).
    ``(b) Nationwide Service of Process.--Where an action under this 
section is brought in a district court of the United States, process 
may be served in the judicial district where the case is brought or any 
other judicial district of the United States where the defendant may be 
found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business.
``Sec. 4105. Attorneys' fees
    ``In any action brought in a domestic court to enforce a foreign 
judgment for defamation, including any such action removed from State 
court to Federal court, the domestic court shall, absent exceptional 
circumstances, allow the party opposing recognition or enforcement of 
the judgment a reasonable attorney's fee if such party prevails in the 
action on a ground specified in section 4102 (a), (b), or (c).''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the Sense of the Congress that for 
the purpose of pleading a cause of action for a declaratory judgment, a 
foreign judgment for defamation or any similar offense as described 
under chapter 181 of title 28, United States Code, (as added by this 
Act) shall constitute a case of actual controversy under section 
2201(a) of title 28, United States Code.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for 
part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``181. Foreign judgments........................................4101.''.


                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.