Help us end SLAPP Archives - Page 2 of 2

Help us end SLAPP

Ending this threat requires cooperation across the political spectrum and across different sectors. Free speech is not a luxury to be controlled by the powerful few. By bullying and intimidating those who speak out, the powerful are putting their own interests above the broader interests of our democracy. We won’t allow legal bullies to make “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) the new normal. To the contrary, their use of these shameless tactics strengthens our resolve to protect our rights to free speech and peaceful protest.

Ending SLAPP Begins with Responsible Business

As most business leaders are aware, the best way to respond to criticism by civil society advocates, journalists, and the public is to engage in constructive dialogue. Participating in good faith in multi-stakeholder dialogues can result in creative, unexpected solutions, as well as a stronger social license to operate. You can help by encouraging your employer and business partners to engage with critics responsibly.

Spread the Word: SLAPPs are a Risky Business Move

Bringing a SLAPP is a risky tactic for a company to pursue. The costs are potentially enormous. In addition to the costs of unnecessary litigation, anti-free speech behavior can cause a strong public blowback against a company’s brand and reputation. It can attract the attention of lawmakers and regulators. It can scare away customers.

Even Chevron, whose SLAPP many still hold up as being successful, ended up with a $2 billion bill. (The New Yorker reported that the case could have been settled for $140 million in 2011). In May 2018, three shareholder resolutions challenged Chevron’s CEO John Watson for “materially mishandling” the situation. Watson later announced that he would be stepping down.

SLAPPs can backfire on a company, bringing more support for the victim’s cause. After facing a SLAPP from Shiva Ayyadurai, the blog TechDirt ended up raking in a huge amount of money in support of its cause. Coincidentally, Mike Masnick, TechDirt’s founder who was also a co-defendant in the lawsuit, coined the term “Streisand effect,” where attempts to silence free speech end up drawing even more attention to the issue.

SLAPPs can also obstruct all of the economic benefits that a company can obtain from information sharing. If customers or the public are afraid to provide critical feedback, then the company will lose data gathering opportunities that it can use to improve its products and services. This can make a company less resilient and responsive to changes in the market and consumer demand.

Bipartisan Support Exists for Anti-SLAPP Legislation

SLAPPs will exist as long as corporations and powerful individuals are willing to abuse the court system to intimidate and silence their critics. But anti-SLAPP legislation can help to reduce the threat. Anti-SLAPP legislation makes it easier for courts to dismiss these cases quickly to minimize the burden on those who have been targeted. Legislation can also impose sanctions and other costs on the SLAPP bully. This can create a strong disincentive against the use of SLAPPs.

However, to achieve its intended goal, anti-SLAPP statutes must be designed carefully. If corporations and powerful individuals are able to misuse these statutes in order to create more barriers to public interest litigation, then they have the potential to cause more harm than good.

Bipartisan support exists for anti-SLAPP legislation at the state level. In fact, some of the strongest anti-SLAPP laws on the books are in California and Texas.

Despite the prevalence of SLAPPs across the country, Congress has not enacted a federal anti-SLAPP law. Members of Congress have proposed anti-SLAPP legislation in the past. In 2015, a Republican congressman from Texas introduced the SPEAK FREE Act of 2015 (H.R. 2304), which obtained bipartisan support from 32 co-sponsors, as well as broad civil society support. However, the bill did not advance.

Unfortunately, some of the most aggressive practitioners of SLAPPs against civil society – such as the law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP – have close ties to the Trump Administration, reducing the possibility for strong anti-SLAPP legislation at the federal level in the near future.

As a result, many anti-SLAPP advocates are focusing their efforts on achieving harmonized, effective anti-SLAPP laws at the state level. Currently, 32 out of 50 states have special laws that help to protect against SLAPPs and deter legal bullying. These laws will often allow the defendant to request an early dismissal of a SLAPP and recover the costs of legal defense from the SLAPP bully. In two states, judges have created narrow protections against SLAPPs in common law.

However, states’ anti-SLAPP laws do not consistently protect the same categories of free speech. Some are broad, and some are quite narrow. This patchwork set of laws allows legal bullies to shop around to find the best venue in which to bring their lawsuit. Greater consistency in states’ anti-SLAPP laws could help to end forum shopping.

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For more information about SLAPPs, please visit the following pages:

What is a SLAPP? – Not all lawsuits are SLAPPs. Here are some of the warning signs of a SLAPP.
Who is vulnerable? – SLAPPs pose a threat to a wide range of individuals and organizations working in the public interest. Here are some recent, emblematic cases.
Know your rights – You can reduce your risk of SLAPPs by taking certain precautionary measures.
Get help – If you have been sued or face the threat of a SLAPP, here are some immediate steps to consider.
Our cases – Learn more about the work of the task force and its individual members.

A Federal Anti-SLAPP Law Would Make CDA 230 More Effective

September 05, 2018

Tags: Digital, Internet, Legislation

Julio Sharp-Wasserman and Evan Mascagni analyze one of the ways that a federal anti-SLAPP law would promote free speech online: it would close loopholes in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230). CDA 230 is designed to prevent a chilling effect…

A Primer on the Texas Anti-SLAPP Statute

August 28, 2018

In 2011, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas signed the Texas Citizens Participation Act, an anti-SLAPP statute. In this article on the blog SlappedInTexas.com, Laura Lee Prather–the primary advocate for this legislation–describes the details of the law.

Communities Demand Accountability and an End to Chevron’s Pollution

May 21, 2021

For Immediate Release May 21, 2021 Contacts: Shoshana Wechsler at swechs@sonic.net +1.510.332.4110 Nyunt Than at nyuntthan@gmail.com +1.510.220.1323 Paul Paz y Miño at paz@amazonwatch.org +1.510.773.4635 Communities Demand Accountability and an End to Chevron’s Pollution During the 8th annual Anti-Chevron Day, affected frontline communities from around the world continue… Read More

Compendium of State Anti-SLAPP Statutes

February 01, 2018

In February 2018, the Uniform Law Commission published this compendium of states’ anti-SLAPP statutes. This document is helping to inform the Commission’s effort to develop model anti-SLAPP legislation that can be used to harmonize anti-SLAPP approaches across all 50 states.

Congress Takes On SLAPPs — SPEAK Free Act of 2015 (H.R. 2304)

May 13, 2015

In May 2015, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) introduced the SPEAK Free Act (H.R. 2304) in Congress, a bill to end SLAPPs. The legislation received 32 co-sponsors, as well as support from across civil society. Although it did not advance, the bill remains an important reminder that bipartisan support exists…

Consumer Protection Fairness Act: What Businesses Need to Know

February 28, 2017

After President Obama signed the Consumer Protection Fairness Act in 2016, the Federal Trade Commission published this factsheet to help inform businesses about the law’s requirements. The law protects people’s ability to voice their opinions online about a business’s products and services. It is a response to a series…

Critical Free Speech Protections Are Under Attack in Texas

March 18, 2019

Tags: Anti-SLAPP Laws, EFF, TCPA, Texas, Texas Citizens Participation Act

Joe Mullin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discusses an effort to weaken Texans’ right to free speech by gutting the state’s anti-SLAPP law. The article was originally published on EFF’s website and is reprinted here with permission. ——– A bill introduced in Texas threatens the free… Read More

EFF: Why We Can’t Support Modifications to Texas’ Anti-SLAPP Law

May 21, 2019

Tags: Anti-SLAPP Laws, EFF, Legislation, Texas

The Electronic Frontier Foundation analyzes Big Business’ “reform” of Texas’ anti-SLAPP law. This article is reprinted with permission from EFF’s website. Earlier this year, a critical free speech law in Texas came under attack. Texas bill H.B. 2730, as… Read More

Factsheet: Kentucky’s Anti-SLAPP Legislation

February 19, 2020

Tags: Factsheet, guide, Kentucky

Download the Factsheet What Are SLAPPs? “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) are a particularly dangerous form of lawsuit. SLAPPs target civil society advocates, community leaders, journalists, whistleblowers, and everyday people who exercise their Constitutional rights. SLAPPs masquerade as ordinary civil lawsuits, but their true purpose is to…

How SLAPPs Undermine Democracy: A Case Study of the USA

September 14, 2018

Tags: ETP

Charlie Holt, Legal Counsel at Greenpeace International, examines the rise of corporate power in democracies worldwide. With governments increasingly powerless to hold corporations accountable for wrongdoing, Holt writes that corporations are “increasingly responsive to only one thing: the opinion of their customers.”…

Protect the Protest Adds to the Voices Calling for Anti-SLAPP Law in Kentucky

February 19, 2020

In the 2020 legislative session, Louisville Representative Nima Kulkarni filed anti-SLAPP bill in the Kentucky General Assembly. Protect the Protest has created this… Read More

Public Participation Project — Advocating for Anti-SLAPP Legislation

August 10, 2018

The Public Participation Project is a nonprofit organization working to pass anti-SLAPP legislation at the federal and state levels. The website contains numerous resources on anti-SLAPP legislative efforts, as well as case studies of SLAPPs across a wide range of sectors.

Texas: Don’t Let the Legislature Gut Your State’s Free Speech Laws

March 28, 2019

Tags: Anti-SLAPP Laws, EFF, Texas, Texas Citizens Participation Act

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) describes what is at stake if a Texas anti-SLAPP statute gets watered down. This article has been re-posted from EFF’s website. TAKE ACTION: Tell Texas lawmakers not to throw out free speech protections. ————————– A bill is moving forward in… Read More

Uniform Law Commission’s Analysis of Legal Issues Associated With SLAPPs

May 31, 2017

In May 2017, the Uniform Law Commission published this memo, which discusses legal issues and approaches to anti-SLAPP legislation. This document is helping to inform the Commission’s effort to develop model anti-SLAPP legislation that can be used to harmonize anti-SLAPP approaches across all 50 states.

Why We Need Federal Legislation to Protect Public Speech Online

May 31, 2015

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation published this report to build the case for anti-SLAPP legislation. The report analyzes the ways that SLAPPs have been used, as well as the harms caused by SLAPPs. The report also identifies key components of anti-SLAPP legislation.