Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are frequently deployed by companies to silence and harass critics. SLAPPs seek to manipulate the judicial system by masquerading as legitimate legal claims, abusing laws (e.g. on libel / defamation) to target valid and protected speech or protest.

SLAPPs can be effective in gagging critics: they take advantage of the prohibitive costs and time that it takes to litigate a case, and can result in prison sentences and other harmful physical, financial and psychological impacts on defenders. As importantly, they have a chilling effect on free expression, disrupt legitimate collective action to defend the rights of workers and communities.

Lawyers and legal advocates have used a range of innovate strategies to defend critics against SLAPPs. Several countries have passed legislation that aims – or can be used - to protect defenders against SLAPPs, such as Australia, the US, Canada (in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec), Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia (here and here).

This hub brings together resources on the legal defence against SLAPPs (SLAPPs cases, legislation, reports etc. ) in an effort to end their use and to hold companies accountable for judicial harassment.