You just have to look at certain British newspapers to see see why the establishment there clings for dear life to its draconian libel laws. But with ‘libel tourists’ using English courts to attack enemies abroad–even if one has no assets in the U.K., its court verdicts can be ‘domesticated’ elsewhere–the threat to free speech in the U.S. has moved congress to take action.
From the Committee to Protect Journalists:
This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill shielding journalists and publishers from “libel tourism.” The vote on Monday slipped past the Washington press corps largely unnoticed. Maybe it was the title that strove chunkily for a memorable acronym: the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage (SPEECH) Act. Journalists and press freedom defenders outside the United States did, however, pay attention to the legislation, which they hope will spur libel law reform in their countries.
U.S. Senate passes ‘libel tourism’ bill [CPJ] (Thanks, David Carroll! Via Submitterator)