The Council of Europe calls on member states to take action against SLAP lawsuits

The Council of Europe today called on its 46 member states to “combat abusive lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists and other critical observers of political life”, as stated in a statement by the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers addressed a recommendation to member states, calling on them to “develop comprehensive and effective policies to combat Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAP).” These are defined as actions or threats of legal action to harass or intimidate journalists which are intended to “impede, impede, restrict or punish freedom of expression on matters of public concern”. These prosecutions may be carried out by large corporations, wealthy individuals, or even government bodies against journalists or other critical observers of public life. In order to facilitate the recognition of SLAP actions, the Council of Europe Ministerial Recommendation lists a non-exhaustive list of ten indicators, among which “the exploitation of a power imbalance, […]
Source: News Beast

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