ACLU Testimony Submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has more than half a million members, countless additional activists and supporters, and fifty-three affiliates nationwide. We are one of the nation’s oldest and largest organizations advocating in support of individual rights in the courts and before the executive and legislative branches of government. In particular, throughout our history, we have been the nation’s pre-eminent advocate in support of individual free speech rights. We write today to express our strong support for legislation to resolve the problem known as ‘libel tourism’. Some say no such problem exists.1 Those who believe it is a problem don’t necessarily agree on the best approach to dealing with the issue. The ACLU is less concerned with these differences of opinion than with upholding the constitutional standards found in the U.S. Constitution against challenges arising out of foreign laws that fall short of accepted international standards. We encourage this committee to craft legislation to protect the free speech rights of those authors and writers entitled to such protection from the chilling effect of foreign laws that fail to conform to basic international human rights agreements.