The draft report proposes measures to counteract the threat that SLAPPs pose to journalists, NGOs and civil society.

No Member State has yet enacted targeted legislation against SLAPPs. In the report, MEPs highlight the frequent imbalance of power and resources between claimants and defendants, which undermines the right to a fair trial. MEPs are particularly concerned about SLAPPs being funded from state budgets, and their use in combination with other state measures against independent media outlets, journalism and civil society.

The draft report calls on the Commission to analyse best practices currently applied outside the EU to SLAPPs, and present a package of measures, including legislation. MEPs say that these should include:

• an ambitious legal framework in the upcoming Media Freedom Act;
• the prevention of “libel tourism” or “forum shopping” through uniform and predictable defamation rules, and by establishing that cases should be decided by the courts (and according to the laws) of the defendant’s habitual place of residence;
• rules on early dismissal by the courts so that SLAPPs can be stopped quickly based on objective criteria, such as the number and nature of lawsuits or actions brought by the claimant, the choice of jurisdiction and law, or the existence of a clear and burdensome imbalance of power;
• sanctions for the claimant if they fail to justify why their action is not abusive, rules to ensure the consideration of abusive motives even if early dismissal is not granted, and the payment of costs and damages suffered by the victim;
• safeguards against combined SLAPPs, i.e. those combining criminal and civil liability charges, and measures to ensure that defamation (which is a criminal offence in most Member States, despite calls for its decriminalisation by the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) cannot be used for SLAPPs;
• an EU Directive establishing minimum standards, which should protect victims while preventing and sanctioning the misuse of anti-SLAPP measures, e.g. by authoritarian governments weaponising them to protect their government-organised NGOs; and
• financial aid for legal and psychological help for victims of SLAPPs and organisations assisting them, and adequate training of judges and lawyers.

The draft report is expected to be tabled for a plenary vote in November. To read the European Parliament’s press release in full, click here.