A substantial bipartisan effort is underway to enact anti-SLAPP protections.
By Michael Arria / AlterNet
May 18, 2016
Currently 28 states have some kind of anti-SLAPP statutory protection. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, which refers to litigation intended to silence critics by sticking them with the need for an exorbitant legal defense.
Read MorePPP Board Member Laura Prather recently published a piece for Lexology about the need for federal anti-SLAPP legislation:
“Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (otherwise known as “SLAPP” suits) are more prevalent than ever given the ease of communication and multitude of platforms available for getting messages out. They are gaining even more notoriety in the presidential election since candidate Donald Trump vowed to “open up” the current libel laws to further protect him from facing public criticism.
Read MorePPP Policy Director Evan Mascagni was recently quoted in an article about SLAPPs and the SPEAK FREE Act by Gene Policinski:
The proposed law would allow defendants to transfer lawsuits from state to federal courts, particularly valuable in 22 states that do not have an anti-SLAPP law or in those with weak protection. Farenthold said the law also will provide a means in federal court to quickly resolve a SLAPP lawsuit “before the legal fees run up.”
Read MoreFrom Jason Linkins at Huffington Post:
According to reports, Republican legislators are having an uneasy time cottoning to the notion that real estate developer and white-supremacist cuddle muppet Donald Trump seems to be on the glide path to becoming their party’s standard-bearer.
Read MoreYesterday, a coalition of free-market, pro-consumer groups sent a letter in support of the SPEAK FREE Act to members of the House Judiciary Committee.
Here’s a portion of that letter:
“On behalf of the undersigned free-market organizations, we write to express our strong support for H.R. 2304, the SPEAK FREE Act, and urge you to move it swiftly through markup.
Read MoreWhen consumers review products or services online, they shouldn’t fear a virtual slap on the hand while they type. But that’s exactly what’s happening as a result of a handful of businesses who hide behind SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws to silence public opinion when they don’t agree with it. Congress needs to act now to ensure that Americans are free to speak their minds.
Read MoreToday, Eric Goldman, PPP Board Member and Director of the High Tech Law Institute and law professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives expressing support for the SPEAK FREE Act. Including Eric, 59 law professors and legal scholars from across the country signed on to this letter.
You can read more and view the actual letter here.
Read MoreIt’s a sadly familiar sight in courthouses around the country: A deep-pocketed corporation, developer or government official files a lawsuit whose real purpose is to silence a critic, punish a whistleblower or win a commercial dispute. That’s why California enacted a law in 1992 to give people a preemptive legal strike against frivolous lawsuits that seek to muzzle them on public issues. This sort of safeguard doesn’t exist in almost two dozen other states or in federal law, unfortunately, but a group of tech-friendly lawmakers is trying to change that.
Read more from the LA Times here.
Read MoreFrom Chris McGuinness at New Times:
"Was your dinner served cold or undercooked? Was the waitress rude? Did the mechanic who fixed your car overcharge you? These days, letting the whole world know about your dissatisfaction with a business is as easy as jumping on a laptop or smartphone and leaving a scathing review.
Read MoreThis morning, the Public Participation Project joined 33 other organizations in sending a letter to Chariman Goodlatte, Ranking Members Conyers, Chairman Franks, and Ranking Member Cohen in the House of Representatives, urging them to advance the bipartisan SPEAK FREE Act as swiftly as possible.
Here is a link to the letter and below is a list version of those organizations that signed on to the letter.
Read Moreby: Mark Goldowitz
CASP Joins 33 Other Organizations in Letter Urging Congress to Enact SPEAK FREE Act.
Read MoreSince H.R. 2304, the SPEAK FREE Act of 2015, was introduced in the House on May 13, 2015, numerous organizations and individuals have voiced their support for this important bill. Additionally, two more co-sponsors have also been added to the bill: Tom Marino, R-PA, and Randy Forbes, R-VA.
Here are just some examples of the support that the introduction has been getting:
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
“EFF applauds the bipartisan effort of the representatives who introduced the SPEAK FREE Act. We hope Congress will quickly act on this important legislation.”
Read MoreFederal efforts for “Free Speech Act” were launched in 2015-2016 in collaboration with PPP.
Read MoreThe Information Technology & Innovation Foundation just published this report advocating for federal anti-SLAPP legislation:
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is a non-partisan research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote public policies to advance technological innovation and productivity internationally, in Washington, and in the states. Recognizing the vital role of technology in ensuring prosperity, ITIF focuses on innovation, productivity, and digital economy issues.
Read More
