{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rulli.house.gov/2026/09/16/rulli-introduces-bill-to-prevent-foreign-censors-from-infringing-on-first-amendment/", "Rulli Introduces Bill to Prevent Foreign Censors from Infringing on First Amendment", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Michael A. Rulli", "R000619", "rulli.house.gov", "rulli", "https://rulli.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Michael A. Rulli (OH-06) introduced the Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion Act, known as the GRANITE Act, to stop foreign governments from enforcing censorship judgments against Americans.\n\n\u201cForeign bureaucrats do not get to decide what Americans can say,\u201d said Rulli. \u201cMy bill makes clear that if a foreign government tries to punish an American for speech protected by the First Amendment, that judgment is dead on arrival in our courts. The Constitution protects our right to speak freely. It does not bend to Brussels or London.\u201d\n\nThe GRANITE Act would bar domestic courts from recognizing or enforcing any foreign judgment, fine, order, or demand that penalizes, restricts, or compels disclosure related to protected expression, when that judgment would be unenforceable under the First Amendment. The bill also strips foreign governments and officials of sovereign immunity when they attempt to impose these censorship judgments, opening the door for Americans to seek declaratory relief in U.S. district court.\n\nRulli\u2019s legislation responds to a growing trend of foreign regulators, including under the UK\u2019s Online Safety Act and the EU\u2019s digital regulations, attempting to reach across borders and force American companies and individuals to comply with foreign speech restrictions.\n\n\u201cIn the last 18 months, foreign censorship agencies have sent hundreds of demands into the United States, nearly 200 from a single British regulator alone, threatening American citizens with fines and prison time for exercising their constitutional rights online,\u201d said Preston Byrne, managing partner of Byrne & Storm, P.C., who represents U.S. targets of foreign censorship. \u201cThe online world is where most constitutionally protected expression now happens. Congressman Rulli\u2019s GRANITE Act guarantees that no foreign censor\u2019s unconstitutional order will ever be enforced by an American court against an American speaker.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe built this country on the idea that the government cannot silence its citizens,\u201d said Rulli. \u201cI am not going to sit back while foreign regulators try to do what our own government cannot. This bill draws a hard line. American speech is protected in American courts, full stop.\u201d\n\nThe legislation is supported by NetChoice and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rulli.house.gov/2026/09/16/rulli-introduces-bill-to-prevent-foreign-censors-from-infringing-on-first-amendment/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6084830276668072, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}