Lawsuits increasingly being used to silence journalists, activists across Europe, new study warns

The practice of using lawsuits to silence journalists, activists and public watchdog organizations is on the rise in Europe, a new report published Monday found.

Between 2010 and 2023, 1,049 strategic lawsuits against public participation known as SLAPPs, were filed across 41 European countries, with 166 filed in 2023 alone, according to the annual report by the Coalition Against SLAPPs, in collaboration with the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

The term SLAPPs refers to cases filed by powerful subjects, such as corporations, public officials and high-profile businesspeople, against private individuals or nongovernmental organizations that have expressed a critical position on an issue of social or political interest.

Of the 41 nations analyzed, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Turkey saw the most widespread use of strategic lawsuits.

Reporters continue to be the primary targets of such cases, followed by media outlets, editors, activists and NGOs.

In 2023, almost half of such lawsuits (42.5 percent) were filed by businesses and businesspeople, while politicians were responsible for more than a third (35.5 percent).

“It’s really worrying that over one-third of these cases are filed by politicians,” said Emma Bergmans, senior policy and advocacy adviser at Free Press Unlimited, an international media freedom organization. When politicians get involved, it causes “polarization and the hardening of society,” she added.

Most of the lawsuits were aimed at suppressing voices that exposed corruption and environmental issues.

 “Climate change and environmental issues are a topic that can have a really big implications for companies,” said Bergmans. “And when journalists or civil society report on their wrongdoings or impacts on the climate, that can have a huge effect on businesses and that’s why they move quickly and take extreme measures to silence them.”

The 2024 report did not take into consideration cases of state censorship or cases in which the lawsuit is brought forward by public authority, but only considered cases brought forward by a private party, said Martina Urso, lead operations officer at the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and one of the authors of the report.

“Not because they’re less important,” she said, “But because we wanted to show that, even when we exclude state censorship cases, we’re still finding more cases every year.”

However, the numbers in the report still don’t reflect the reality, as most SLAPPs cases go unreported. “The report … only scratches the surface,” Urso said.

Victims don’t always report such cases against them because of time and money constraints, or fear of retribution.

“SLAPPs are often accompanied by other intimidating tactics, such as smear campaigns, threats and physical attacks,” said Bergmans.

The recourse for victims is inadequate, and attempts to limit the use of SLAPPs are not strong enough, experts say.

In April, the European Union adopted an Anti-SLAPP Directive in April and issued recommendations on combating the use of such lawsuits.

However, it’s not enough. One of its limitations, explained Urso, is that it only takes into consideration cross-border cases and does not consider domestic cases.

The Council of Europe also issued a recommendation in April, setting out a more robust framework for deterring and remedying SLAPPs.

This one includes the domestic cases as well, and provides clear indicators on how to evaluate a legal case.

The Council of Europe recommendation is also “more outspoken” when it comes to the protection of targets. “Its recommendation really goes into detail on compensation of damages, while in the EU directive it’s much more focused on the penalties,” Urso said.

She argued that the EU should review its recommendations to include more support to the victims of such strategic lawsuits.

“It’s essential if you’re confronted with a SLAPP case that you have immediate access to the right resources, such as a lawyer familiar freedom of expression or human rights, but also to the financial assistance to pay for that lawyer,” she said.

Urso added that EU member countries should also do their part by applying the Council of Europe recommendations into national law, and opening dialogue with civil society organizations that cover this topic.