Congressman Cohen Passses Libel Tourism Bill

The bill is designed to address the phenomenon known as “libel tourism,” or the exploitation of defamation laws in foreign countries that lack the broad protections of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment in the United States.

“Libel tourism threatens to undermine the principles of free speech because foreign courts are not obliged to consider extensive First Amendment privileges in defamation cases,” said Congressman Cohen. “My bill will prohibit domestic courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign defamation judgments unless the domestic court finds that the foreign judgment comports with our First Amendment. I thank Darrell Issa (CA-49), Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (MI-14) and House leadership for recognizing the urgency with which Congress needed to act on this matter and getting this bill on the calendar before the end of the session.”

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has applauded Congressman Cohen’s legislation, and the bill has already received wide, bipartisan support in the House Judiciary Committee (which has jurisdiction over the bill).

The issue of libel tourism was brought to Congressman Cohen’s attention as a result of the case of Ehrenfeld v. bin Mahfouz, which involved a U.S. author who was sued for libel in England by a Saudi billionaire. The author, Rachel Ehrenfeld, was unsuccessful in her effort to have an English default judgment against her declared unenforceable in the U.S. This prompted the New York State Legislature to enact legislation – the first of its kind in the U.S. – prohibiting enforcement of a foreign libel judgment unless a court in New York determines that it satisfies the free speech and press protections guaranteed by the U.S. and the New York State constitutions. Nonetheless, the Governor of New York noted when signing that bill into law that ultimately, Congress needed to address this issue at the national level.

Congressman Cohen added, “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. 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. Challenges to Americans’ First Amendment protections in U.S. courts are cumbersome and difficult by design, and we will not tolerate any erosion of those rights by foreign courts.”

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