UPDATE: President Obama Inks SPEECH Act

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American authors and jorunalists breathed a sigh of relief after President Barack Obama yesterday signed the so-called "libel tourism" bill co-sponsored by Sen. Patrick Lahey (D-Vt.) and Sen. Jeffrey Sessions (R-Ala.).

The Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage ("SPEECH") Act [H.R. 2765] prevents the enforcement of foreign libel judgments in the U.S. that run counter to protections afforded by the First Amendment. (See "TUOL" post 7/28/10.) The SPEECH Act allows for U.S. defendants in foreign defamation suits to seek a declaratory judgment in an American court to clear their name.