Latest Anti-SLAPP Developments

The bill, put forward by Conservative MP Bob Seely on Tuesday, is intended to put pressure on the government to move forward with its own promised legislation to tackle vexatious legal claims designed to silence debate on issues of public interest, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or Slapps

Utah is likely the next in line to pass a comprehensive consumer privacy law, joining the ranks of California, Colorado, and Virginia. Senate Bill 227, the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA), was passed by the Utah legislature and sent to Governor Spencer Cox’s desk on March 3. Governor Cox has 20 days in which to either sign the bill into law or veto it, and if no action is taken the bill will become law. If enacted in its current form, the UCPA would take effect December 31, 2023.

The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition welcomed the MOJ’s commitment to bring in legislative reform to tackle SLAPPs in July. While the framework proposed has the potential to provide meaningful protections against SLAPPs, much will depend on how this is fleshed out.

Solicitors have been told to guard against getting involved in abusive litigation aimed at silencing legitimate critics, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

On September 15, 2022, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, introduced H.R. 8864, the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) Protection Act to establish a procedure to dismiss and deter strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and punish entities that attempt to use this litigation to stifle First Amendment protected speech. The legislation follows a Subcommittee hearing that highlighted the fossil fuel industry’s use of SLAPPs to silence environmental activists and non-profits who speak out against proposed fossil fuel pipelines and other projects that contribute to climate change. The need for a federal law is clear due to the abundant forum shopping taking place throughout the country to avoid Anti-SLAPP protections resulting in a disproportionate burden on our federal court system and open means by which those who speak truth to power and expose wrongdoing can still be silenced by way of judicial harassment.

Bill (H.R. 8864) Press Release Article

2021 was an active year in Anti-SLAPP Developments. “SLAPP” (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuits are on the rise, and in response state legislatures over the last decade have been increasingly passing broad protections in the form of anti-SLAPP laws to address this form of judicial harassment.
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