In the Senate of the United States, 

July 19, 2010. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2765) entitled ‘‘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.’’, do 

pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing the Protection 

3 of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage 

4 Act’’ or the ‘‘SPEECH Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The freedom of speech and the press is en8 shrined in the first amendment to the Constitution, 

9 and is necessary to promote the vigorous dialogue nec-
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1 essary to shape public policy in a representative de2 mocracy. 

3 (2) Some persons are obstructing the free expres4 sion rights of United States authors and publishers, 

5 and in turn chilling the first amendment to the Con6 stitution of the United States interest of the citizenry 

7 in receiving information on matters of importance, by 

8 seeking out foreign jurisdictions that do not provide 

9 the full extent of free-speech protections to authors 

10 and publishers that are available in the United 

11 States, and suing a United States author or publisher 

12 in that foreign jurisdiction. 

13 (3) These foreign defamation lawsuits not only 

14 suppress the free speech rights of the defendants to the 

15 suit, but inhibit other written speech that might oth16 erwise have been written or published but for the fear 

17 of a foreign lawsuit. 

18 (4) The threat of the libel laws of some foreign 

19 countries is so dramatic that the United Nations 

20 Human Rights Committee examined the issue and in21 dicated that in some instances the law of libel has 

22 served to discourage critical media reporting on mat23 ters of serious public interest, adversely affecting the 

24 ability of scholars and journalists to publish their 

25 work. The advent of the internet and the inter-
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1 national distribution of foreign media also create the 

2 danger that one country’s unduly restrictive libel law 

3 will affect freedom of expression worldwide on matters 

4 of valid public interest. 

5 (5) Governments and courts of foreign countries 

6 scattered around the world have failed to curtail this 

7 practice of permitting libel lawsuits against United 

8 States persons within their courts, and foreign libel 

9 judgments inconsistent with United States first 

10 amendment protections are increasingly common. 

11 SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DEFAMATION JUDG12 MENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States 

14 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘CHAPTER 181—FOREIGN JUDGMENTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘4101. Definitions. 

‘‘4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments. 

‘‘4103. Removal. 

‘‘4104. Declaratory judgments. 

‘‘4105. Attorney’s fees. 

16 ‘‘§ 4101. Definitions 

17 ‘‘In this chapter: 

18 ‘‘(1) DEFAMATION.—The term ‘defamation’ 

19 means any action or other proceeding for defamation, 

20 libel, slander, or similar claim alleging that forms of 

21 speech are false, have caused damage to reputation or 

22 emotional distress, have presented any person in a 
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1 false light, or have resulted in criticism, dishonor, or 

2 condemnation of any person. 

3 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC COURT.—The term ‘domestic 

4 court’ means a Federal court or a court of any State. 

5 ‘‘(3) FOREIGN COURT.—The term ‘foreign court’ 

6 means a court, administrative body, or other tribunal 

7 of a foreign country. 

8 ‘‘(4) FOREIGN JUDGMENT.—The term ‘foreign 

9 judgment’ means a final judgment rendered by a for10 eign court. 

11 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 

12 several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

13 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

14 States. 

15 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

16 ‘United States person’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a United States citizen; 

18 ‘‘(B) an alien lawfully admitted for perma19 nent residence to the United States; 

20 ‘‘(C) an alien lawfully residing in the 

21 United States at the time that the speech that is 

22 the subject of the foreign defamation action was 

23 researched, prepared, or disseminated; or 
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1 ‘‘(D) a business entity incorporated in, or 

2 with its primary location or place of operation 

3 in, the United States. 

4 ‘‘§ 4102. Recognition of foreign defamation judgments 

5 ‘‘(a) FIRST AMENDMENT CONSIDERATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

8 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

9 defamation unless the domestic court determines 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) the defamation law applied in the for12 eign court’s adjudication provided at least as 

13 much protection for freedom of speech and press 

14 in that case as would be provided by the first 

15 amendment to the Constitution of the United 

16 States and by the constitution and law of the 

17 State in which the domestic court is located; or 

18 ‘‘(B) even if the defamation law applied in 

19 the foreign court’s adjudication did not provide 

20 as much protection for freedom of speech and 

21 press as the first amendment to the Constitution 

22 of the United States and the constitution and 

23 law of the State, the party opposing recognition 

24 or enforcement of that foreign judgment would 

25 have been found liable for defamation by a do-
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1 mestic court applying the first amendment to the 

2 Constitution of the United States and the con3 stitution and law of the State in which the do4 mestic court is located. 

5 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING APPLICATION OF

6 DEFAMATION LAWS.—The party seeking recognition or 

7 enforcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the 

8 burden of making the showings required under sub9 paragraph (A) or (B). 

10 ‘‘(b) JURISDICTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

13 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

14 defamation unless the domestic court determines that 

15 the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the foreign 

16 court comported with the due process requirements 

17 that are imposed on domestic courts by the Constitu18 tion of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING EXERCISE OF

20 JURISDICTION.—The party seeking recognition or en21 forcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the bur22 den of making the showing that the foreign court’s ex23 ercise of personal jurisdiction comported with the due 

24 process requirements that are imposed on domestic 

25 courts by the Constitution of the United States. 
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1 ‘‘(c) JUDGMENT AGAINST PROVIDER OF INTERACTIVE

2 COMPUTER SERVICE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

4 provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court 

5 shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for 

6 defamation against the provider of an interactive 

7 computer service, as defined in section 230 of the 

8 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) unless 

9 the domestic court determines that the judgment 

10 would be consistent with section 230 if the informa11 tion that is the subject of such judgment had been pro12 vided in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING CONSISTENCY

14 OF JUDGMENT.—The party seeking recognition or en15 forcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the bur16 den of establishing that the judgment is consistent 

17 with section 230. 

18 ‘‘(d) APPEARANCES NOT A BAR.—An appearance by 

19 a party in a foreign court rendering a foreign judgment 

20 to which this section applies shall not deprive such party 

21 of the right to oppose the recognition or enforcement of the 

22 judgment under this section, or represent a waiver of any 

23 jurisdictional claims. 

24 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion shall be construed to— 
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1 ‘‘(1) affect the enforceability of any foreign judg2 ment other than a foreign judgment for defamation; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(2) limit the applicability of section 230 of the 

5 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) to 

6 causes of action for defamation. 

7 ‘‘§ 4103. Removal 

8 ‘‘In addition to removal allowed under section 1441, 

9 any action brought in a State domestic court to enforce a 

10 foreign judgment for defamation in which— 

11 ‘‘(1) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State different 

12 from any defendant; 

13 ‘‘(2) any plaintiff is a foreign state or a citizen 

14 or subject of a foreign state and any defendant is a 

15 citizen of a State; or 

16 ‘‘(3) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State and any 

17 defendant is a foreign state or citizen or subject of a 

18 foreign state, 

19 may be removed by any defendant to the district court of 

20 the United States for the district and division embracing 

21 the place where such action is pending without regard to 

22 the amount in controversy between the parties. 

23 ‘‘§ 4104. Declaratory judgments 

24 ‘‘(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any United States person 

2 against whom a foreign judgment is entered on the 

3 basis of the content of any writing, utterance, or other 

4 speech by that person that has been published, may 

5 bring an action in district court, under section 

6 2201(a), for a declaration that the foreign judgment 

7 is repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the United 

8 States. For the purposes of this paragraph, a judg9 ment is repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the 

10 United States if it would not be enforceable under sec11 tion 4102 (a), (b), or (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF ESTABLISHING UNENFORCE13 ABILITY OF JUDGMENT.—The party bringing an ac14 tion under paragraph (1) shall bear the burden of es15 tablishing that the foreign judgment would not be en16 forceable under section 4102 (a), (b), or (c). 

17 ‘‘(b) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Where an 

18 action under this section is brought in a district court of 

19 the United States, process may be served in the judicial dis20 trict where the case is brought or any other judicial district 

21 of the United States where the defendant may be found, re22 sides, has an agent, or transacts business. 

23 ‘‘§ 4105. Attorneys’ fees 

24 ‘‘In any action brought in a domestic court to enforce 

25 a foreign judgment for defamation, including any such ac-
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1 tion removed from State court to Federal court, the domestic 

2 court shall, absent exceptional circumstances, allow the 

3 party opposing recognition or enforcement of the judgment 

4 a reasonable attorney’s fee if such party prevails in the ac5 tion on a ground specified in section 4102 (a), (b), or (c).’’. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the Sense of the Con7 gress that for the purpose of pleading a cause of action for 

8 a declaratory judgment, a foreign judgment for defamation 

9 or any similar offense as described under chapter 181 of 

10 title 28, United States Code, (as added by this Act) shall 

11 constitute a case of actual controversy under section 

12 2201(a) of title 28, United States Code. 

13 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

14 table of chapters for part VI of title 28, United States Code, 

15 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘181. Foreign judgments ...................................................................... 4101.’’. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 2765 

AMENDMENT