SPEECH Act now a law: big win for libel reform!
By PHIL PLAIT - BAD ASTRONOMY
Added: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:39:01 UTC
American authors, journalists, and bloggers can breathe a sigh of relief: with broad bipartisan support, a short time ago President Obama signed a bill into law that makes sure that the awful and regressive libel laws in the UK cannot be enforced here in the United States.
I’ve written about this issue many times; skeptic and journalist Simon Singh was sued for libel by a UK chiropractors group for saying they "happily promote bogus remedies". In the UK, when sued, you have to prove the claim is false, the opposite of the way it works in most of the rest of the world, including the US. It should be up to the prosecution to prove the claim is true. So in the UK this puts undue burden on the person accused, an almost guilty-until-proven-innocent situation.
This has engendered a process called "libel tourism", where people will sue in the UK no matter where the defendant might live. For example, if I made some claim that chiropractors practice bogus remedies, them suing me in the US would be difficult. But in the UK, it would be far easier, so they would sue me there. I would have to spend thousands of dollars, perhaps hundreds of thousands, defending myself, as Simon Singh had to when he was sued.
This new law prevents that. If someone tried to sue me in the UK, they wouldn’t be able to get traction here in the States. The new law, with the (awful) name "Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage", or SPEECH, broadly protects the free speech rights of Americans. It’s another step in the process of getting the UK government to reform their libel laws.
... continue reading
Tweet
RELATED CONTENT
Andrew Copson - British Humanists... 31 Comments
'Reform' of the House of Lords could lead to MORE influence for bishops. How you can take action.
Seth Andrews - YouTube -... 19 Comments
Doing Good...Without God - They have raised $11K of their $30k goal - please watch the video and consider contributing
Appeal to Freethinkers to Fight Cancer
- - YouTube - ScottBurdickArt 14 Comments

Appeal to Freethinkers to Fight Cancer
The Winner of the Ten Point Vision...
- - RichardDawkins.net 34 Comments

Do You Believe in a Secular America?
Council prayers ruling starts national...
National Secular Society -... 116 Comments
It appears our success at the High Court has started a national conversation about secularism – and that can only be a good thing. When there is a comment facility available under these attacks, the popular opinion is overwhelmingly in our favour.
Maryam Namazie/Author of Jesus & Mo -... 37 Comments
We are going to be criticizing your scriptures, lampooning your prophets, and laughing at your deeply held beliefs for many years to come. You can complain about us. You can ignore us. Or you can respond in kind with ridicule and laughter of your own.
MORE BY PHIL PLAIT
While temperatures rise, denialists...
Phil Plait - Bad Astronomy 83 Comments

While temperatures rise, denialists reach lower
Stunning view of a bloom from space
Phil Plait - Bad Astronomy 6 Comments

Stunning view of a bloom from space
Phil Plait - Bad Astronomy Blog 7 Comments
Astronomers see exoplanet orbiting its...
Phil Plait - Bad Astronomy Blog 12 Comments
Has life on Titan been discovered? No.
Phil Plait - Bad Astronomy 28 Comments




















Comments
Comment RSS Feed
Please sign in or register to comment
View Comments Page