Critical Voices in Germany Are Growing Louder Despite Attempts at Legal Intimidation

When the NoSLAPP contact point for Germany launched on May 16, 2024, the term "SLAPP" was still a foreign word to many in Germany. Strategic lawsuits against public participation sounded like an abstract legal problem, far removed from their everyday lives.

But behind this term lies a very concrete battle for our democratic public sphere. SLAPPs are not about legitimate legal disputes – they are about power, intimidation, and the attempt to silence critical voices. The flood of warnings, preliminary injunctions, and cease-and-desist orders is intended to silence unwelcome critics and bribe the public attention economy: Those who have to devote their time and resources to legal disputes cannot research, report, or engage in action; and those who only read and hear about current court proceedings and decisions are less concerned with the socially relevant debates behind them.

Individual cases reveal a structural problem

In its first year, NoSLAPP.de handled numerous cases - case reviews are published on a dedicated website - and conducted awareness-raising discussions. It became clear: What many affected people perceive as an individual problem is actually a structural phenomenon. The journalist who reports on a protest and is suddenly prosecuted as an activist himself. The citizens' initiative that criticizes a controversial construction project and is subsequently prosecuted multiple times. The environmental activist who has to answer in court for a satirical campaign.

We must move away from the individual "What am I allowed to do?" to a collective "How do we collectively defend our critical public?" Because that is precisely what the SLAPP game is: a legal monopoly on accurate criticism, aimed at isolating and intimidating individuals.

From David versus Goliath to networked resilience

The image of David versus Goliath aptly describes the starting point for SLAPPs: On one side are financially powerful companies, politicians, or celebrities with specialized law firms. On the other side, there are often individuals or small organizations with limited resources.

In this unequal battle, the No SLAPP Contact Point has built its work on three pillars:

Raising awareness and support for those affected: From initial assessment and, if necessary, providing legal advice to psychosocial support, prevention training, or even reactive support.

Networking and public communication: In collaboration with journalists' associations, environmental organizations, academic institutions, and other civil society actors, concrete case studies and other interesting information on the topic of SLAPP are regularly made publicly available.

Political work: Our commitment to an ambitious implementation of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive 2024/1069 into German law, which goes beyond the minimum standards.

This strategy is having an impact. More and more affected people are realizing: They are not alone. And more and more SLAPP complainants are learning that their attempts at intimidation often achieve the opposite.

Striking dogs bark: Success stories from a year of anti-SLAPP work

Often, it is precisely the most accurate research and the most important critical voices that are combated through legal means.

A particularly striking example is the case of an investigative journalist who has been reporting on alleged corruption cases in the allocation of refugee accommodation in Brandenburg since 2022. His research led to publications in Focus Online, the Berliner Zeitung, and other media outlets. The response of the accused district administration: five unsuccessful injunctions and finally a complaint to the Press Council – a classic example of the SLAPP game.

Despite all the legal attacks, the journalist was not intimidated. On the contrary: He continued his research and was able to gather further evidence of the practices he had originally criticized. Other media outlets also picked up the topic. However, the chilling effect was felt by local media: MAZ avoided the topic despite its own assessment as "ideally suitable," and RBB reported only fragmentarily. This is where the real success of SLAPPs becomes apparent – ​​not in the courtroom, but in the self-censorship of others.

As this case illustrates, anyone who hits the mark with their criticism must expect legal counterattacks.

But SLAPPs can be defended against. And what's more, they can backfire on those who use them.

Our experience also shows that this requires knowledge, resources, and networking. Therefore, last year we:

• Conducted training courses for various target groups

• Established a network of 18 specialized lawyers and legal experts

• Developed the first chapters for a handbook on SLAPP prevention and defense

• Raised public and judicial awareness about the German implementation of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive

Target group-specific support was particularly important to us. A SLAPP against a journalist requires different strategies than one against an environmental activist or a scientist.

From defensive action to democratic engagement

One year of the No SLAPP Contact Point has shown that the key probelm is not just about individual legal cases – it's about democratic culture.

The increasing juridification of public discourse is leading to issues of social relevance being shifted from public debate to the legal sphere. Judicial truth-finding and judicial decision-making are replacing public deliberation. This is a development that weakens our democracy.

We see the work of NoSLAPP.de as a contribution to democratic resilience. Raising awareness of SLAPPs must help ensure that critical issues such as right-wing extremism, corruption, and social inequality can be addressed despite attempts at intimidation.

Next steps

In the coming year, we will further intensify our work:

• SLAPP Early Warning System: Through better networking and documentation, we aim to identify potential SLAPPs early and respond more quickly.

• Continuing our prevention work: With target group-specific training courses and our handbook, we help prevent SLAPPs from the outset or better prepare for them.

• Expanding public case documentation: To give the SLAPP phenomenon as many concrete faces as possible and, at the same time, to actively discuss slapped publications.

• Cooperation with other contact and advice centers: Especially to compensate for the psychosocial consequences of SLAPPs.

• Commitment to legal improvements: The upcoming implementation of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive into German law offers the opportunity to enshrine effective protective mechanisms. We are committed to this – with clear demands:

Together against SLAPPs: A call for cooperation

When we began our work a year ago, awareness of SLAPPs was low. Today, more and more people are talking about the problem – and even more: they are organizing against it.

We want to capitalize on this momentum. Because SLAPPs are more than individual legal disputes – they are attacks on democratic discourse itself. Only through collective, strategic action and a smart communications strategy can we ward off this threat and preserve a critical, vibrant public.

A democratic society needs people who have the courage to expose and criticize grievances. We must strengthen this courage through mutual support, strategic action, and clear communication.

The No SLAPP Contact Point is a project of Blueprint for Free Speech e.V. in cooperation with Reporters Without Borders, DJV, dju in ver.di, FragDenStaat, and Aktion gegen Arbeitsunrecht, and funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Further information is available at www.noslapp.de