The Media Coalition this week submitted testimony opposing a bill in Hawaii, House Bill 548 HD 3, that would impose civil liability on writers and publishers of travel guides if a reader “suffers an injury or dies” after engaging in an activity or trespassing to reach a site “depicted or described” in the publication. In addition, the bill also imposes on guidebooks and websites “a duty to warn” readers of any dangerous conditions that may be “typical” to an attraction or activity. If enacted, the legislation would apply to traditional print media like books and magazines as well as to websites and advertisements.
The submitted testimony asserts that such legislation is unconstitutional, and urges the Hawaii state legislature to amend or oppose the legislation. Enacting such third-party liability, the publishers contend, would have “a substantial chilling effect” on publishers, authors, website operators, and others, and runs afoul of First Amendement free speech protections. “If this legislation passes, authors and publishers will be hesitant to produce Hawaiian travel guides for fear that they will be held responsible for the actions of tourists and private landowners,” said David Horowitz, executive director of Media Coalition. “We understand that Hawaii’s legislators are concerned about the well-being of tourists, but shifting liability onto writers and publishers is not the answer."
The testimony will be submitted today at a Hawaii Senate Committee on Tourism, and has been introduced at previous hearings since the bill was introduced, on January 31 and again February 7; as well as in in the House Water, Land, and Ocean Resources Committee on February 14; and in the House Judiciary Committee on March 1. Notably, Media Coalition officials note, three other bills that would have imposed third-party liability on publishers and authors were all deferred, or have died for the current legislative session.
