Policy Director — Public Participation Project

EVAN MASCAGNI

POLICY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROJECT

Evan is a former attorney turned documentary filmmaker and First Amendment rights advocate. He is passionate about protecting the free speech rights of filmmakers, journalists, and activists across the country.

Prior to moving to New York City and starting a film production company, Player Piano, he was an attorney with the California Anti-SLAPP Project, a public interest law firm and policy organization dedicated to fighting SLAPPs in California.

Evan speaks frequently about the First Amendment in the national media and has appeared on such programs as CBS This Morning, ABC Nightly News with Diane Sawyer, and CBS News. He has given public talks on SLAPPs at forums like SXSW and on Capitol Hill, and he has appeared on podcasts such as The Guy Gordon Show and the Columbia University STLR podcast.

Evan has written extensively about SLAPPs, in scholarly journals such as the First Amendment Law Review, and for mainstream audiences on websites like Mic. He has been quoted extensively in newspapers and websites across the globe, including cover stories for the Washington Post, USA Today, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He also serves as faculty for Lawline, providing legal education for attorneys on anti-SLAPP legislation.

He graduated, summa cum laude, from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the UDC Law Review.

He can be reached at emascagni@anti-slapp.org and 804-723-0565.

Featured

Anti-SLAPP legislation proposed in Kentucky

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently quoted in a KY Sunday Edition story on WDRB discussing proposed anti-SLAPP legislation in KY:

Mascagni, a Louisville native, praised Kulkarni for "starting this important conversation in Kentucky" and told WDRB he would be coming home this year to "help advocate for a comprehensive bi-partisan solution to this problem."

PPP Policy Director on CBS This Morning

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was interviewed for a segment on SLAPPs for CBS This Morning.

"We're seeing a rise in individuals being sued for speaking out online," said Evan Mascagni, who works for the Public Participation Project. He says many lawsuits are designed simply to intimidate. They're called "SLAPP" lawsuits (for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation).

"A SLAPP filer doesn't go to court to seek justice; they are just trying to silence or harass or intimidate a critic of theirs," Mascagni said.

Could BC’s New Anti-SLAPP Law Help #MeToo Survivors?

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently interviewed for an article on how a Canadian anti-SLAPP law could help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

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

PPP Policy Director, Evan Mascagni, co-authored a piece with Julio Sharp-Wasserman on Techidrt about how federal anti-SLAPP legislation would make CDA 230 more effective.

How a Proposed First Amendment Law Would Protect Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in Ohio

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni published an Op-Ed in Ohio that ran in several newspapers across the state advocating for anti-SLAPP legislation in Ohio. The Op-Ed is published in full below.

Immediately following a report by the New York Times that he allegedly sexually assaulted numerous women throughout his career, Harvey Weinstein threatened to sue the Times for defamation. For First Amendment legal scholars, this comes as no surprise. There’s a long history of powerful bullies attempting to use the legal system to silence their critics.

Commentary: Safeguarding free speech in New York still just a vision

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni published an Op-Ed in the Albany Times Union advocating for stronger anti-SLAPP legislation in New York:

"New York is often regarded as the media capital of the world, but in our state, opinions expressed through traditional media outlets, blogs, social media and consumer review websites are not always protected from those who disagree with them."

Protecting free expression for Virginians: it's common sense

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni published an op-ed in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch advocating for anti-SLAPP legislation in Virginia:

“Perhaps no person in the history of American politics has framed the importance of advocating for individual liberties better than Thomas Paine, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers..

'Right to Yelp': New laws would protect reviewers from lawsuits

PPP Board Member Sophia Cope and PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni were recently quoted in a front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle on SLAPPs.

“There are bullies out there who seek to silence individuals for speaking out on matters of public interest,” said Evan Mascagni...

Trump, Bill Maher and Miss Pennsylvania: The 'I'll Sue You' Effect

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently quoted in a USA Today article about Donald Trump and SLAPPs:

Trump isn’t alone in trying to “hijack the judicial system” to silence critics, said Evan Mascagni, policy director at the Public Participation Project, an advocacy group lobbying for a federal anti-SLAPP law.

Online Speech Backers' Newest Fear: Trump

PPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently quoted in a Politico article about SLAPPs and Donald Trump:

Trump’s litigiousness has extended into the presidential campaign. In November, following reports of a $2.5 million pro-Kasich super PAC investment in anti-Trump ads, Trump tweeted: “I will sue him just for fun!

In some cases, he has openly acknowledged that going to court is less about seeking justice and more about joyfully punishing enemies.