Bipartisan bill would protect speech from harassing lawsuits

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SLAPPs are lawsuits intended to chill and punish constitutionally protected speech, including journalism.
Strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, threaten free speech.
SLAPPs are frivolous lawsuits often brought by the wealthy and powerful against speech they dislike. SLAPPs chill reporting, activism, and criticism by forcing defendants to spend time and money defending themselves. We need strong laws that stop SLAPPs at both the state and federal level.
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When authorities attacked their local newspapers for coverage with which they disagreed, the outlets themselves became the story
Lawsuits that suppress speech hurt the public and business, Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney Paul Levy told us.
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Supposedly pro-tort reform legislature invites frivolous lawsuits against the press
Speaking the truth shouldn’t subject you to drummed-up lawsuits, endless legal proceedings, and potentially bankrupting legal fees, journalist Charles Ornstein told us
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We asked a SLAPP defendant and her lawyer to explain how proposed changes to Texas law could harm consumers and free speech
Lawyers and judge involved in illegal prior restraint should face consequences
Potential CBS settlement would only embolden further attacks on press freedom.