Members of the European parliament have approved new rules to protect journalists and human rights activists from "gagging prosecutions" aimed at intimidating and silencing whistle-blowers.
Tuesday's long-waited vote by MEPs in Strasbourg now paves the way for negotiations with member states, some of whom have been accused of trying to stifle press freedom.
At a plenary session at the European parliament, MEPs voted by a large majority in favour of the text with 498 in favour, 33 against and 105 abstentions.
This comes on the back of a proposal from the European Commission in April 2022, expressing concern at the increase of abusive procedures and litigation targeting journalists and rights groups, undertaking investigations.
Parliament wants to reinforce the protection of journalists and activists in the EU against unfounded and abusive lawsuits aimed at silencing them.
— European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) July 11, 2023
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Protecting journalists from abusive litigation
These "gagging appeals" are generally lodged by people in positions of power – in economic or political spheres – with the aim of preventing revelations coming to light.
During the debate, European Commissioner for Transparency, Vera Jourova said, "This is a dangerous trend that requires a legislative response ... Our objective is clear: to protect journalists and other key players in civil society from abusive legal proceedings."
For jurisdictional reasons, European legislation to date deals with cross-border civil SLAPP suits, in particular cases where the complainant and the target are in two different countries.
The Commission's proposal last year was intended to give a broad interpretation of this cross-border dimension, taking the view that the directive could apply – even when the two parties are in the same member state – but the dispute is in the public interest and also concerns other countries.
We need strong #StopSLAPPs action to prevent this phenomenon from growing.
— Věra Jourová (@VeraJourova) July 10, 2023
Our objective is clear: to protect journalists and other important civil society actors against abusive court proceedings.
In Strasbourg #EPlenary, I called for swift progress on the file. pic.twitter.com/NChfaZBBOL
Finding a compromise
However, EU member states – who voted on the draft directive in June – have restricted its scope by deleting the part of the text dealing with the definition of the cross-border nature of a case, on the grounds that this would be a matter for the national courts.
On the other hand, the European Parliament has further broadened the cross-border dimension, by taking the view that it can apply as soon as the subject of the dispute is "accessible by electronic means."
It will now be up to the EU parliament and council negotiators reach an agreement on a compromise text.
The threat of costly legal action can act as a deterrent to journalists, whistle-blowers and human rights or environmental activists.
These abusive legal SLAPP proceedings – "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation" – were dramatically illustrated by the murder in 2017 of the Maltese journalist and anti-corruption campaigner Daphne Caruana Galizia who was the target of over 40 lawsuits and subsequently murdered in a car bomb attack outside her home.
