New report confirms increase in SLAPP cases in Europe: a serious threat to press freedom
A new report by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation shows a worrying increase in SLAPP cases in Europe. In 2023, 166 new SLAPPs were filed. This brings the total number to 1049 SLAPP cases in 41 European countries since 2010. The Netherlands also features in this list, CASE identified 12 SLAPPs there. Free Press Unlimited conducted research into this earlier this year, concluding that the impact of legal pressure in the Netherlands is underestimated and leads to self-censorship.
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly being used across Europe to silence journalists, human rights defenders and civil society organisations. These lawsuits are often brought by wealthy and powerful actors to intimidate, pressure and silence critical voices. In 2023, almost half of the lawsuits were brought by companies and businessmen, and more than a third by politicians.
“SLAPPs not only harm their targets, they are a threat to our democracy as a whole. SLAPPs jeopardise our right of access to reliable information.” says Emma Bergmans, senior policy adviser at Free Press Unlimited and member of CASE's steering committee.
Public interest issues
In 2023, SLAPP cases covered a wide range of public interest issues, but by far the most common were related to corruption (36%), followed by environmental issues (16%). These topics directly touch on issues of high public interest. “Corruption undermines democratic processes, damages trust in institutions and often costs societies billions of euros. Environmental issues affect the health, safety and habitat of current and future generations. It is crucial that journalists can report on these issues to expose abuses of power. If journalists cannot do their work due to legal pressure, their role as watchdogs of democracy is compromised. Without their work, these injustices remain invisible and lack the transparency needed to bring about change,” Bergmans stated.
SLAPPs in the Netherlands
Although a remarkably high number of SLAPPs were identified in Italy, Romania, Serbia and Turkey in 2023, the report underlines that the problem is widespread across Europe. By 2023, the list of countries where SLAPPs occur expanded: CASE has now identified SLAPP lawsuits in 41 countries in Europe. The Netherlands also appears in the list of countries where SLAPPs have been identified, CASE identified 12 cases here. Free Press Unlimited conducted research on legal pressure and SLAPPs in the Netherlands in April 2024 and concluded that the impact of legal pressure on Dutch media remains mostly invisible and is underestimated. The study found that increasing legal pressure and SLAPPs against media and individual journalists in the Netherlands leads to self-censorship and psychological and financial pressure, especially on freelance journalists and smaller media outlets. Free Press Unlimited also argued that current Dutch legislation does not provide sufficient protection against SLAPP cases.
Meanwhile, the Dutch government has drafted a law to implement the European anti-SLAPP directive. Last month, the Dutch anti-SLAPP working group shared its concerns about this bill, which in its current form offers insufficient protection to targets of SLAPP cases.
"The implementation act needs to put effective safeguards into place so that powerful actors bringing SLAPPs are deterred from doing so. Otherwise, the Dutch journalistic community remains unprotected.” Bergmans said.
A SLAPP is a threat
SLAPPs pose a serious threat to democracy and freedom of expression. This report calls on policymakers, civil society and media organisations to push for strong implementation of anti-SLAPP measures across Europe. Without stronger protections, our access to reliable information will be jeopardised by those who want to silence critical voices.
Read the CASE report here:
