Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

Strategic lawsuits against public participation, also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits, are lawsuits aimed at censoring, intimidating, and silencing critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. The plaintiffs typically do not expect to win the lawsuit, but rather achieve their goals through fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs, or exhaustion of the defendant. SLAPPs often involve frivolous litigation, forum shopping, and other tactics to drain the defendant's financial resources, and can have a chilling effect on freedom of speech. To combat SLAPPs, some jurisdictions have passed anti-SLAPP laws that allow defendants to file motions to strike or dismiss cases involving protected speech on matters of public concern.learn more on wikipedia