The SLAPP Problem Is Worse Than We Thought

As Donald Trump tests the limits of anti-press litigation, a new initiative aims to document the wave of nuisance suits.

Press freedom advocates and media lawyers in the United States have long warned about the rise of frivolous lawsuits intended to intimidate and silence journalists through expensive legal battles. But despite anecdotal evidence, the problem has remained amorphous. No one has been able to say just how bad it is because no one has closely tracked the filings, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs.

A free speech group at New York University is trying to change that. In November, as President Donald Trump threatened to sue the BBC for a billion dollars in a continuation of his longtime habit of suing news outlets over coverage he dislikes, First Amendment Watch launched the SLAPP Back Initiative, a years-in-the-making database that aims to track all alleged SLAPPs in the United States. “This is very much a first step toward trying to get a handle on how bad the problem is,” Peter Madden, First Amendment Watch’s managing editor, said. “Transparency is the first step toward accountability.”