The New York Senate has unanimously passed the Libel Tourism Protection Act, which would give New York-based authors substantial jurisdictional protection against spurious libel suits conducted abroad. England is a prime site for libel tourism--and it is interesting indeed to watch the English press following the work of New York legislators so closely. As one commenter to the London Times article noted, "I would like to request THE TIMES to take a similar stand in England and to encourage MPs and government ministers to support legislation to protect our freedom of speech, as well. What's good for the offspring of English freedoms (America) should be relevant for the Mother Country as well: BRING THE REVOLUTION HOME! SUPPORT FREE SPEECH!"
And as the Guardian observed,
For years journalists have grumbled about the libel laws and no one has listened, but when a distant legislature passes a law of its own to counteract the intolerable effects of the British courts then it's time to take notice. The most startling recent legal story comes not from the high court but from Albany, where the New York state legislature has introduced the starkly named Libel Terrorism Prevention Act, intended specifically to guard writers and publishers outside British jurisdiction from the terrors of English libel law.
MPI Jared Lapidus explains the problem of libel tourism, and outlines the enabling role English law plays in it, in his striking short film, The Libel Tourist