S. 449: Free Speech Protection Act of 2009
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S. 449: Free Speech Protection Act of 2009
111th Congress · introduced 2009-02-13 · Law · Latest: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2009-02-13 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Free Speech Protection Act of 2009
Plain summary
Free Speech Protection Act of 2009 - Allows any U.S. person against whom a lawsuit for defamation is brought in a foreign country for defamation on the basis of the content of any speech by that person that has been published, uttered, or otherwise disseminated in the United States to bring an action in a U.S. district court against any person who, or entity which, brought the suit, if: (1) the speech at issue in the foreign lawsuit does not constitute defamation under U.S. law; and (2) the person or entity which brought the foreign lawsuit serves or causes to be served any documents in connection with such foreign lawsuit on a U.S. person. Allows the award of treble damages if it is determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the person or entity bringing the foreign lawsuit intentionally engaged in a scheme to suppress rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution by discouraging publishers or other media from publishing, or by discouraging financial supporters from employing, retaining, or supporting the research, writing, or other speech of an individual.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Free Speech Protection Act of 2009
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA] · 3 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s449.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>
Record fed-us-cong111-s449 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111