Warren Davidson, a member of the US House of Representatives, has introduced a bill that would protect Americans and US companies from foreign governments trying to censor speech that is allowed in the US.
We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.
Similar to the GRANITE ACT phenomenon that has been gaining traction, the HOMEFRONT Act would stop US courts and officials from helping foreign censors and give Americans a way to fight back against foreign censorship orders. HOMEFRONT is an acronym that stands for Halting Overseas Mandates from Extraterritorially Reaching Onto National Territory.
“Foreign governments have no business policing the speech of American citizens,” said Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, announcing the bill.
He explained that the legislation was needed because foreign regulators were using fines and legal threats to pressure US companies into censoring speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
“The HOMEFRONT Act would make sure American courts and agencies cannot be used to enforce those penalties and give Americans subject to them the right to challenge them in federal court,” the congressman said.
As an example of the problem, his office cited Britain’s Ofcom and its attempts to apply the Online Safety Act to US businesses, revealing in an April 6 freedom-of-information response that it had sent 197 information notices to businesses with US addresses.
The proposed legislation would ensure that Americans do not lose the right to defend their case abroad and at the same time fight enforcement of a foreign judgment in the US, or raise jurisdictional objections.
For a foreign judgment or order to be enforced in a US court, the party seeking that would have to show that the conduct in question would not be protected by the First Amendment if it had happened in the US.
Another provision is that the foreign personal jurisdiction would have to meet US constitutional due process standards. And, in cases involving online services, the bill adds another layer of protection, that of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. To get a judgment or order enforced in the US, the party would also have to prove that it is consistent with Section 230 had the information been provided in the US.
The bill would also stop the US government from helping other countries with investigations and enforcement against US persons for conduct that is protected by the First Amendment, and bar extradition of Americans for that reason.
HOMEFRONT would allow US persons to sue a foreign government or regulator in a federal district court for $25,000 in damages, attorney’s fees, and other relief, if a covered foreign censorship judgment or order has been entered against them.
The legislation would also instruct the Attorney General to submit a report to Congress each year that would cover the number of foreign censorship attempts, costs of compliance, penalties, and other relevant information.
