A bill to create a Federal cause of action to determine whether defamation exists under United States law in cases in which defamation actions have been brought in foreign courts against United States persons on the basis of publications or speech in the United States.
Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 - Allows any U.S. person against whom a lawsuit for defamation is brought in a foreign country on the basis of the content of any speech by that person that has been published, uttered, or otherwise disseminated in the United States to bring an action in a U.S. district court against any person who, or entity which, brought the suit, if the speech at issue in the foreign lawsuit does not constitute defamation under U.S. law.
Allows the award of treble damages if it is determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the person or entity bringing the foreign lawsuit intentionally engaged in a scheme to suppress rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution by discouraging publishers or other media from publishing, or by discouraging financial supporters from employing, retaining, or supporting the research, writing, or other speech of an individual.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3793-3794)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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