Shaheen, Cassidy Unveil New Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Foreign Lawfare and Political Harassment

Shaheen, Cassidy Unveil New Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Foreign Lawfare and Political Harassment
**The bill cracks down on use of SLAPP suits by foreign nations and proxies to silence and intimidate dissidents**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH),Ranking Member of the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee, and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are introducing new, bipartisan legislation that would stop foreign nations and their proxies from using strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, to intimidate critics and dissidents in the U.S. by draining their financial resources. Authoritarian regimes are increasingly usinglawfare through proxiesin the United States as a means of political harassment and intimidation towards those exercising their First Amendment rights. TheEnd Foreign Abuse of United States Courts Act, orForeign Anti-SLAPP Act, would make it easier to dismiss such meritless suits in court.
“We’re seeing a worrying trend of foreign governments, like the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and their proxies, taking advantage of U.S. courts to wage a legal war against people who are exercising their First Amendment rights. These SLAPP suits only have one goal: To silence and harass people who are speaking out against their oppressors,”said Senator Shaheen.“American courts shouldn’t be working in service of authoritarian regimes. Our legislation would put a stop to these malicious suits and put the power back where it belongs, in the hands of the people.”
Current U.S. law makes it very easy for foreign governments to file these manufactured claims in court. The Foreign Anti-SLAPP Act would create a Foreign Sovereign Anti-SLAPP statute (FSAS), modeled off motions many states have already for domestic suits, that increases the legal burden on foreign government plaintiffs or their proxies and accelerates the dismissal of these cases in U.S. courts.
A copy of the bill text can be foundHERE.
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