Informed 11 Campaign Stopping SLAPPs


Te NUJ parliamentary group made a telling contribution in a Westminster debate on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) as MPs returned from recess on 1 September. “SLAPPs stifle free speech and undermine the right of the general public to know information,” said John McDonnell MP, NUJ parliamentary group secretary. “Tere is a deterrence effect: they are a form of intimidation against telling the truth.” McDonnell pointed out that journalists “had been the main target of SLAPPs” with some incurring devastating legal costs “just to try to demonstrate that they have been writing truthful analyses.” Filed by those with thin skins and thick wallets, SLAPPs atempt to silence critical speech. Claimants file or threaten baseless lawsuits to bury journalists, whistleblowers, campaigners, academics, and other publishers in legal costs and lengthy court cases. Tis places a huge financial and emotional burden on journalists and media organisations. SLAPPs aim to instil fear and deter


reporting. For small publishers and freelance journalists who don’t have the backing of large legal teams, financial resources or support structures, avoiding publication can seem the most appropriate course of action to


welcome the government’s engagement now – hopefully including with the NUJ over these coming weeks – so that we can get this legislation on the statute book as rapidly as possible and protect freedom of speech.”


Other MPs similarly called on the


prevent bankruptcy. Where publication proceeds, reports may be watered down in fear of legal action. Tis means stories – including those about misconduct, corruption, and injustice – go untold. For years the NUJ has been campaigning as part of the Anti- SLAPP Coalition for the government to introduce standalone, robust, universally applicable legislation. Prior to being elected, the Labour government pledged to “tackle the use of SLAPPs to protect investigative journalism.” Noting disappointment that anti-SLAPP provisions had been omited from the King’s Speech, McDonnell said that “now is the time to pick up the pace [...] Te NUJ is part of the Anti-SLAPP Coalition. Te proposals put forward include: clear, 10-point criteria to identify SLAPPs; a higher merits threshold for likely success at trial; and a filter mechanism for swiſt disposal of actions that clearly seek to gag individual journalists and others. We


Watch this space


In late August the NUJ responded to the government’s UK media green paper, which proposes legislation forcing social media companies to make “trustworthy news” prominent and easily discoverable, particularly at times of social unrest or crisis. Te union agreed that online misinformation is a growing problem


that needs addressing but warned that the state must not be the arbiter of what is and isn’t “trustworthy” as this could allow any government to shut down criticism and scrutiny. Te union stressed that the


government would need to avoid adverse effects, such as the systemic silencing of freelances and independent media voices who provide audiences


government to urgently introduce comprehensive legislation. “Te Justice Secretary has said that legislation will be brought forward, but the King’s Speech has been and gone, so what is the government’s plan?” asked Dr Kieran Mullan, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Batle. “If the answer today is only warm words, I think the 111 peers who signed the cross-party leter, the editors of Te Times, Te Sun and Te Guardian, the National Union of Journalists, the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and every Member who has spoken in this debate are perhaps entitled to a litle something more.” Sarah Sackman, courts and legal


services minister, responded to MPs’ speeches by welcoming calls for universal anti-SLAPP legislation, stating “we have begun to take the stepping stones towards that universal framework.” Te parliamentary session concluded with a motion recognising that SLAPPs pose a “critical threat” to press freedom, noting that existing anti-SLAPP provisions are “ineffective” and “insufficient”, and calling for the government to urgently introduce new legislation that “filters out abusive lawsuits swiſtly and fairly.”


with well-researched, quality information, and hold power to account. Te response further pushed for a


government-funded nationwide media literacy initiative and stronger regulation that clamps down on tech companies that facilitate harmful and misleading content. It also strongly opposed ditching digital terrestrial television in the absence of universal broadband access, as this would only exacerbate the issue of digital exclusion.


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