Bill Targets Lawsuits Meant To Chill Speech
Running up litigation expenses has become an effective way to bludgeon opponents
Recently, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AR) introduced a new federal anti-SLAPP bill called the Free Speech Act of 2012. While the bill doesn't go nearly far enough, EFF is encouraged to see that Congress is showing renewed interested in passing legislation to prevent so called "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation" (SLAPP) that attempt to censor and chill First Amendment protected speech.
Anti-SLAPP laws are intended to stop defamation lawsuits—frequently filed by plaintiffs with deep pockets—that have little to no chance of winning, yet are aimed at pressuring the target into settling for fear of expensive litigation. Generally, the laws allow defendants who are engaged in clearly protected speech to dismiss these lawsuits early on—and in some cases, force the plaintiff to pay legal costs if the suit is frivolous—hopefully discouraging litigants from ever filing them in the first place.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?