Report published by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) on 09/12/2024 – accessible here.
CASE’s 2024 report on SLAPPs reveals that the use of vexatious lawsuits to silence those speaking out in the interest of the public good shows no sign of slowing down.
Since 2019 CASE has worked with Amsterdam Law Clinics to catalogue and analyse SLAPP cases across Europe. In March of 2022, CASE published its findings in the form of its report Shutting out Criticism: How SLAPPs Threaten European Democracy, which provided insight into the rising threat of SLAPPs in Europe in such a broad and thorough manner for the first time. An updated report, published in June 2023, identified an additional 200 lawsuits, with 161 of those filed in 2022. The present report found 166 SLAPPs initiated in 2023, alongside 63 additional cases filed in previous years. All in all, SLAPPs continue to rise in Europe with CASE having identified a total of 1,049 in the period 2010-2023.
Despite the progress that was made on SLAPPs in 2024, with the EU adopting its Anti-SLAPP Directive and the Council of Europe adopting a Recommendation on combating SLAPPs, abusive litigation continues to be used by the rich and powerful to to stifle the work of journalists and activists. SLAPPs pose a grave threat to democracy and free expression. This report calls on policymakers, civil society, and media organisations to push for robust implementation of anti-SLAPP measures across Europe. Without stronger protections, public participation will continue to be eroded by those seeking to silence dissent.