The CASE Coalition reports that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly being used across Europe to silence journalists, activists, and public watchdogs. These vexatious lawsuits aim to stifle voices that expose wrongdoing or hold power to account, and the problem is becoming more widespread. Added the coalition. A new report by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) finds that 166 SLAPPs were initiated in 2023 alone. The increase in cases is significant, especially because the methodology for the 2024 report changed to exclude previously included state censorship cases. The report also uncovered many more cases initiated across preceding years, raising the total to 1,049 in the period 2010-2023.
“The CASE report is the most comprehensive research on SLAPP cases in Europe and is worth reading, although it delivers bad news for journalists and activists. It highlights how laws and procedures continue to be abused to stifle public participation and underscores the urgent need for governments and parliaments across Europe to take immediate action to stop SLAPPs,” says Flutura Kusari, member of the steering committee of CASE.
While a notable number of SLAPPs were filed in Italy, Romania, Serbia and Turkey in 2023, the report underscores that the problem is widespread across Europe. In fact, SLAPPs were identified in countries that had remained absent from previous reports, including Monaco, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, and Denmark. CASE has now identified SLAPP lawsuits in 41 countries across Europe.
In 2023, SLAPP cases covered a broad range of public interest matters, but most common by far were related to corruption at 36%, followed by environmental issues at 16%. CASE says what hasn’t changed is the target of SLAPPs – journalists in their individual capacity remain the most likely target, followed by media outlets, editors, activists and NGOs. Likewise, the rich and powerful remain the most likely to initiate a SLAPP: In 2023, almost half of lawsuits were filed by businesses and businesspersons, where politicians were responsible for well over a third.
2024 saw some positive progress on tackling SLAPPs, with the EU adopting its Anti-SLAPP Directive and the Council of Europe adopting a Recommendation on combating SLAPPs. However, the report finds that, if Member States do not commit to moving beyond the minimum standards set out in the Directive, the overwhelming majority of SLAPP cases may fall outside of its scope.
“SLAPPs in Europe are on the rise, posing a significant threat to freedom of expression. As these abusive legal tactics grow in frequency and severity, it is imperative that member states draft national legislation that meets the highest human rights standards to ensure effective protection for journalists and activists. Under Malta’s current legislation, Daphne Caruana Galizia would not have been protected against 90% of cases she faced,” says Martina Urso, lead operations officer The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.
“Not only do SLAPPs seriously harm their targets, they threaten our democracy as a whole by jeopardizing our right to access to reliable information. European governments need to act now, and put effective safeguards into place so that powerful actors bringing SLAPPs are deterred from doing so” says Emma Bergmans, Free Press Unlimited and member of the steering committee of CASE.
SLAPPs pose a grave threat to democracy and free expression. This report calls on policymakers, civil society, and media organizations to push for robust implementation of anti-SLAPP measures across Europe. Without stronger protections, CASE says public participation will continue to be eroded by those seeking to silence dissent.
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