Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§4102 Recognition of foreign defamation judgments

Title 28 › Part PART VI— - PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter CHAPTER 181— - FOREIGN JUDGMENTS › § 4102

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A U.S. court must not enforce a foreign defamation judgment unless the court finds one of two things: either the foreign court used laws that protect free speech at least as much as the U.S. First Amendment and the state’s laws, or even if the foreign law gave less protection, a U.S. court applying the First Amendment and the state’s law would still have found the person guilty of defamation. The person trying to enforce the foreign judgment has to prove whichever of those is claimed. The U.S. court also must find that the foreign court had proper personal jurisdiction under U.S. due process rules. For online platforms, a foreign defamation judgment can’t be enforced against a provider of an "interactive computer service" unless the judgment would agree with section 230 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 230) if the content had been in the United States. Appearing in the foreign case does not stop a person from opposing enforcement or making jurisdictional claims. This rule does not affect enforcement of non-defamation foreign judgments or change how section 230 applies. Interactive computer service — an online platform or service as defined in 47 U.S.C. 230.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §4102

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court determines that—

(A)the defamation law applied in the foreign court’s adjudication provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press in that case as would be provided by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States and by the constitution and law of the State in which the domestic court is located; or

(B)even if the defamation law applied in the foreign court’s adjudication did not provide as much protection for freedom of speech and press as the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution and law of the State, the party opposing recognition or enforcement of that foreign judgment would have been found liable for defamation by a domestic court applying the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution and law of the State in which the domestic court is located.

(2)The party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the burden of making the showings required under subparagraph (A) or (B).

(b)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court determines that the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the foreign court comported with the due process requirements that are imposed on domestic courts by the Constitution of the United States.

(2)The party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the burden of making the showing that the foreign court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction comported with the due process requirements that are imposed on domestic courts by the Constitution of the United States.

(c)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defamation against the provider of an interactive computer service, as defined in section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) unless the domestic court determines that the judgment would be consistent with section 230 if the information that is the subject of such judgment had been provided in the United States.

(2)The party seeking recognition or enforcement of the foreign judgment shall bear the burden of establishing that the judgment is consistent with section 230.

(d)An appearance by a party in a foreign court rendering a foreign judgment to which this section applies shall not deprive such party of the right to oppose the recognition or enforcement of the judgment under this section, or represent a waiver of any jurisdictional claims.

(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

(1)affect the enforceability of any foreign judgment other than a foreign judgment for defamation; or

(2)limit the applicability of section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) to causes of action for defamation.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 4102

Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73