Washington, March 11 – Two senior US senators have introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent foreign governments and their proxies from using American courts to intimidate critics and dissidents through costly legal battles.
Introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Bill Cassidy, the End Foreign Abuse of United States Courts Act seeks to curb the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP suits) by foreign actors targeting individuals in the United States.
They said that authoritarian governments are increasingly using legal tactics to silence dissent abroad.
“We are seeing a worrying trend of foreign governments, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and their proxies, taking advantage of US courts to wage a legal war against people who are exercising their First Amendment rights,” Shaheen said.
“These SLAPP suits only have one goal: to silence and harass people who are speaking out against their oppressors,” she added.
The bill would establish a new legal framework allowing courts to quickly dismiss lawsuits filed by foreign governments or their proxies when the cases appear intended to suppress political speech or activism.
Under current US law, lawmakers say it remains relatively easy for foreign actors to file such claims in American courts, forcing critics and dissidents to spend significant time and resources defending themselves.
Shaheen said that the proposed legislation aims to prevent US courts from being misused as tools of political pressure.
“American courts shouldn’t be working in the service of authoritarian regimes,” she said. “Our legislation would put an end to these malicious suits and put the power back where it belongs, in the hands of the people.”
The bill would create what lawmakers describe as a Foreign Sovereign Anti-SLAPP statute, designed to raise the legal burden on foreign government plaintiffs and speed up the dismissal of meritless cases.
Under the proposal, defendants would be allowed to file a special motion seeking dismissal of lawsuits brought by foreign governments or their agents if the claims are tied to political speech or public participation.
Courts would be required to dismiss such cases if the plaintiff fails to establish a credible legal basis for the claim or if there is no genuine issue of material fact.
The legislation would also pause other legal proceedings once a motion to dismiss is filed and require courts to rule on the motion within 90 days.
If the defendant prevails, courts could award attorney’s fees and costs. Judges would also have the authority to impose punitive damages if they determine the lawsuit was filed to harass or deliberately increase the cost of litigation.
The bill further specifies that foreign states would not be immune from such penalties if they are found to have pursued abusive litigation in US courts.
The proposed law would apply to lawsuits brought by governments of countries designated as foreign adversaries, as well as individuals or entities substantially controlled by them, particularly when the cases target protected speech or political activity.