There’s almost nothing to stop corporations threatening
legal action to silence their critics. It’s just another
business expense -- they don’t even need to win in court, and they
still win.
Journalists, campaigners and whistleblowers distracted,
demoralised, destroyed? Job done.
But the European Commission is about to propose the first EU law
against such abusive lawsuits. This could be a game changer
for us -- but only if it’s truly water tight.
Just over 100,000 people have already signed a
joint petition to the Vice-President of the European Commission and
the EU’s Justice Commissioner. The EU wants to hear from people like
YOU -- and if you sign and share today, we'll deliver your message
directly to them in Brussels next week:
Tell
the EU to stop abusive lawsuits against watchdogs like journalists,
NGOs and activists.
EU rules to stop strategic lawsuits against public participation
(SLAPPs) are within reach, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be good
enough.
Harassing critics with legal threats is big business.
Corporations and their lawyers will only need a loophole or two, and
the whole exercise will have been for nothing.
But a strong EU anti-SLAPP law could provide a uniform
level of protection against SLAPPs across the EU, and serve
as a model for other countries.
Tell
the European Commission to propose a strong EU law against
SLAPPs.
SumOfUs members around the world have rallied to support other
NGOs and activists facing abusive lawsuits from corporations and
governments. PayPal in Germany once even tried to get us
arrested for exposing their links to Neonazis.
We need to keep resisting corporate harassment whenever it comes,
but this EU law is a chance we mustn’t miss. Let’s add our voices to
the many journalists, environmentalists, human rights defenders and
other organizations who’ve signed already!
