Legal Bullying Tactics: What is a SLAPP lawsuit?

Corporations bully activists, critics, and human rights defenders into silence through baseless lawsuits. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) masquerade as ordinary civil lawsuits, but their true purpose is to drown out criticism by tying up their targets in court.

SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) suits are a dangerous legal tactic used by the rich and powerful to silence dissenters and critics. SLAPPs can target anyone for speaking truth to power, but this is an attack on the constitutional right to free speech. Corporations and unscrupulous lawyers are using SLAPPs to disregard the first amendment and silence critics. SLAPPs aren’t about winning. They’re successful because they tie targets up in court, draining time and money. Corporations shouldn’t be able to sue their critics into silence.

(Animation by Mark Fiore)

[OfficeLegallyUnderOath-ib]

It has the opposite effect in Texas. If a corporation violates your rights and you sue them they in turn file anti-slapp dismissals claiming they have a first amendment right to speak

[G-Funk]

SLAPP suits are explicitly illegal in California, but unfortunately, you still might need to hire an attorney to go to court just to have it dismissed.

[coffeeveins]

Man…I just realized I haven’t seen a new editorial cartoon from Mark Fiore in over a year(this animated short is one of his). Hope he’s ok. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist(one of the first apps I had on my iPhone 3GS way back in the day was one that showed all his editorial cartoons as well as the latest one that came out each week. I can’t remember the last time I saw Dogboy & Mr. Dan(🎶Dogboy, 🎶Dogboy🎶Dogbo🎶..and Mi…ister DAN🎵😊).
And that makes me kinda sad. 🥺
They’re all still up on YouTube it looks like, even if they stopped around late 2023. Worth checking out.

[eryionhetzel]

There's anti slapp lawsuits to protect your first amendment rights