On 26 April, a briefing paper from the EU Parliament Research Service considers abusive or meritless lawsuits filed against someone for exercising their political rights or freedom of expression in relation to matters of public interest. The purpose of SLAPP is not to seek justice but to intimidate, silence and drain the financial and physical resources of the targeted victims. Ultimately, SLAPP have a ‘chilling effect’ that goes beyond the individual case and undermines the building up of a healthy and pluralistic civic space in which citizens can participate actively. On 27 April, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Directive intended to protect people who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive civil court proceedings with cross-border implications.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2022/733668/EPRS_BRI(2022)733668_EN.pdf
raytodd.blog 