This bill adds a new section (4106) to chapter 181 of title 28 of the U.S. Code. It says U.S. courts must not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment, order, subpoena, fine, or similar measure that was issued under a foreign censorship law unless the court finds the same conduct would not be protected by the U.S. First Amendment if it happened in the United States. The person or party asking a U.S. court to enforce the foreign action must prove the foreign ruling meets that test. The bill also requires a U.S. court to find that the foreign court's exercise of personal jurisdiction met U.S. constitutional due process standards before enforcing the foreign action.
The bill creates special rules for online platforms defined under section 230 of the Communications Act. A U.S. court cannot enforce a foreign censorship judgment against a provider of an interactive computer service unless the enforcing court finds the judgment would be consistent with section 230 if the content had been provided in the United States. The party seeking enforcement must show consistency with section 230.
The bill says appearing in a foreign proceeding does not waive a person's right to challenge enforcement in the United States. It bars any U.S. federal, state, or local officer or employee from helping a foreign government investigate or enforce a foreign censorship law when the targeted conduct would be First Amendment protected if done in the United States. It also bars extraditing a U.S. person for violating a foreign censorship law for conduct that would be First Amendment protected in the United States.
The bill gives any U.S. person targeted by such a foreign judgment or order a private right of action in federal court to seek a declaratory judgment that the foreign action is unenforceable, injunctive relief, reasonable attorney's fees, and statutory damages of $25,000. It directs the Attorney General to submit an annual report to certain congressional committees describing instances of foreign censorship affecting U.S. persons, costs and penalties faced by U.S. persons, whether related international arrangements should be kept, and recommendations to counter foreign censorship. The report should be made public with necessary redactions. The Federal Trade Commission must create and maintain a database of instances where speech protected in the U.S. was censored or targeted under foreign laws, excluding proprietary company data and obscene images. The bill defines key terms, including “foreign censorship law,” and includes a severability clause.
The bill’s text aims to protect speech and business activity of U.S. persons by preventing foreign censorship laws from being enforced in the United States when the targeted conduct would be protected by the U.S. Constitution. It adds procedural protections (jurisdictional review and a section 230 consistency check), creates a private remedy with statutory damages, and requires federal reporting and a public database to track foreign censorship efforts.
No publicly available information.