Creating Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion Act

SB 923, the "GRANITE Act," creates a legal cause of action for West Virginia residents and businesses in digital communication, blockchain, and internet services to sue foreign governments or international organizations that enforce censorship laws conflicting with U.S. or West Virginia constitutional protections. It allows lawsuits against foreign entities for imposing penalties (like fines or platform shutdowns) for speech protected under the First Amendment and West Virginia’s Constitution, shifting the burden of proof to the foreign entity to justify such laws. The bill prohibits West Virginia from recognizing or enforcing foreign judgments that compel censorship or criminalize protected U.S. speech, and it establishes civil penalties for violations. This directly affects West Virginia’s digital innovation sector by aiming to shield it from extraterritorial censorship efforts, such as those seen in the UK’s Online Safety Act enforcement against 4chan or Brazil’s court orders against X. The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee (introduced February 12, 2026).