GRANITE Act

The GRANITE Act (HR10174) was introduced by Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH-6) on August 27, 2026, and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. It is an early-stage bill with no cosponsors. The bill amends Title 28 of the U.S. Code to add Section 4106, which prohibits federal and state courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign judgments that enforce 'foreign censorship laws' (defined as laws that restrict or penalize expression based on content, viewpoint, or speaker identity, and would conflict with First Amendment protections). It also creates a private right of action for U.S. persons to seek declaratory relief against such judgments and waives foreign sovereign immunity for these actions.

No funding is authorized—this is a regulatory/legal change with zero direct appropriation. The money trail is indirect: reduced legal costs and avoidance of compliance penalties for companies that might otherwise be forced to remove content or pay fines in foreign jurisdictions.

Key beneficiaries are U.S.-based internet and social media platforms that frequently face foreign court orders (e.g., defamation rulings from UK, EU 'right to be forgotten' orders, or authoritarian censorship demands). The bill would ensure such orders are unenforceable in U.S. courts, giving platforms legal cover to ignore them. Major players include (Facebook, Instagram), (YouTube, Search), , and . Smaller platforms like $PINS or $SPOT also benefit but are less directly targeted.

The legislative path is very early: only referred to committee, single sponsor, no companion in Senate. Passage odds are low in the near term, but if the bill gains traction (e.g., through markup or bipartisan co-sponsors), it could become a key issue for tech policy.