[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10309 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10309
To amend title 28, United States Code, to limit the recognition and
enforcement of foreign censorship laws in the United States, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 8, 2026
Mr. Davidson (for himself, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Cloud, and
Mr. Taylor) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to limit the recognition and
enforcement of foreign censorship laws in the United States, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Halting Overseas Mandates from
Extraterritorially Reaching Onto National Territory Act of 2026'' or
the ``HOMEFRONT Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN CENSORSHIP
LAWS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 181 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 4106. Limitation on recognition and enforcement of foreign
censorship laws
``(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 or order entered pursuant to a
foreign censorship law on a United States person unless the
domestic court determines that the conduct for which the
foreign judgment order was imposed would not have been
protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States if it occurred within the United States.
``(2) Burden.--The party seeking recognition or enforcement
of the foreign judgment or order shall bear the burden of
making the showings required under paragraph (1).
``(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 or order described in subsection
(a)(1) 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 or order 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 or order described in subsection
(a)(1) 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 or order would be consistent with section 230 if the
information that is the subject of such judgment or order had
been provided in the United States.
``(2) Burden of establishing consistency of judgment.--The
party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign
judgment or order shall bear the burden of establishing that
the judgment is consistent with such section 230.
``(d) Appearances Not a Bar.--An appearance by a party in a foreign
court rendering a foreign judgment or order to which this section
applies shall not deprive such party of the right to oppose the
recognition or enforcement of the judgment or order under this section,
or represent a waiver of any jurisdictional claims.
``(e) Limitation on Cooperation.--No officer or employee of the
United States or of any State or unit of local government may assist a
foreign government in investigating or enforcing a foreign censorship
law against a United States person, if the applicable conduct would be
protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States if it occurred in the United States.
``(f) Extradition Protections.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law or any treaty obligation of the United States, a United States
person may not be extradited from the United States to a foreign
country in connection with the violation of a foreign censorship law
for conduct that would be protected under the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States if it occurred within the United
States.
``(g) Private Right of Action.--Notwithstanding chapter 97, any
United States person against whom a foreign judgment or order described
in subsection (a)(1) is entered may bring an action in an appropriate
district court of the United States seeking a declaratory judgment that
such foreign judgment or order is unenforceable under subsection (a),
injunctive relief, reasonable attorney's fees, and statutory damages in
the amount of $25,000.
``(h) Annual Report.--
``(1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation
with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall
submit an annual report to the Chair and Ranking Member of the
appropriate congressional committees detailing the following:
``(A) Instances of foreign censorship laws
affecting the speech rights of the ability to conduct
business of United States persons.
``(B) The costs imposed upon United States persons
to comply with, or the penalties imposed by foreign
entities pursuant to, foreign censorship efforts aimed
at constitutionally protected speech.
``(C) Whether any agreements, treaties, or other
cooperative arrangements between the United States and
foreign entities that engage in efforts to censor
constitutionally protected speech are still in the
interests of the United States to maintain.
``(D) Recommendations for additional measures to
counter foreign censorship efforts affecting the speech
of United States persons.
``(2) Public disclosure.--The report shall, to the extent
feasible be made publicly available, with necessary redactions.
``(i) Database.--The Federal Trade Commission shall establish and
maintain a database that includes instances of speech that occurred
within the United States and is protected under the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States that have been censored or
targeted for censorship under foreign laws, except that such database
shall exclude proprietary company data and information or images that
are obscene.
``(j) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) The term `foreign judgment or order' has the meaning
given such term in section 4101 and includes a subpoena, an
order, an administrative action, a demand, a fine, and any
other similar measure issued by a foreign court.
``(2) The term `foreign censorship law' means a law of a
foreign country that imposes liability for conduct that would
be protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States if the conduct occurred in the United States,
including restrictions related to online safety, hate speech,
misinformation, disinformation, harmful content, compelled
disclosure of user information, and other similar restrictions.
``(3) The term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives
and of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate.
``(k) Severability.--If any provision of this section or the
application of such provision to any person, entity, government, or
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this
section, or the application of such provision to all other persons,
entities, governments, or circumstances, shall not be affected
thereby.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 181 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``4106. Limitation on recognition and enforcement of foreign censorship
laws.''.
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