Publishing industry figures call for SLAPP amendment

Leading figures from the International Publishers Association (IPA), HarperCollins and the Society of Authors are calling for the Anti-SLAPP Bill to be amended. 

The Anti-SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, aims to stop wealthy individuals from intimidating writers, journalists and campaigners with “aggressively litigious” lawsuits. It expands last year’s Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act, which  included an anti-SLAPP amendment but only covered stories about economic crime. 

However, an open letter published by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition today claims the bill risks becoming “ineffective, inaccessible and ultimately redundant” if changes are not made.  

Signatories of the letter include José Borghino, secretary-general of the IPA; Dan Conway, c.e.o. of the Publishers Association; Andrew Franklin, founder and publisher at Profile Books; Arabella Pike, publishing director at HarperCollins; and Nicola Solomon, c.e.o at the Society of Authors. 

The proposed amendment addresses the bill’s early dismissal mechanism, which requires courts to make a “subjective judgment” regarding the intent of SLAPP claimants, in order to determine whether the legal action can be identified as a SLAPP. 

The letter expresses concern that identifying a claimant’s intent “is a notoriously difficult, time-intensive, expensive and uncertain process that would undermine the effective operation of the protections the law provides.” 

“If enacted in its current form, the bill risks becoming an ineffective, inaccessible, and ultimately redundant legal instrument,” the letter said. “By making a small but important amendment, we can ensure courts and judges are able to make timely, consistent and evidence-based determinations of SLAPP cases before legal costs have accrued.” 

The signatories also called for the definition of public interest in the bill to be refined in order to “further strengthen” the legislation. 

“We believe the current definition of public interest could introduce unnecessary uncertainty, which must be avoided for this bill to be effective”, they said. “An Anti-SLAPP Law must be accessible, simple and trusted by public watchdogs to effectively protect free expression,” the signatories said. 

Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief at the Guardian said: "SLAPPs threaten free speech and a free press by enabling those with deep pockets to harass, intimidate and exhaust critics with the goal of deterring public interest journalism. We welcome the work to get a workable anti-SLAPP law in place, with these small changes being vital to making that happen." 

Catherine Belton, International investigative reporter, Washington Post and the author of Putin’s People (William Collins), added: "It’s really important that after all the crusading work by NGOs and MPs, journalists don’t end up with a law that is ultimately ineffective or worse, counterproductive, in combating SLAPPs. In its current form, the proposed legislation would not improve the situation for any journalist and instead more likely strengthen any claimant’s hand, as it will be near impossible to prove a claimant’s intent. This law must be urgently amended, otherwise we risk shooting ourselves in the foot."

The full list of signatories can be found below.

Editorial and media senior management

Rozina Breen, c.e.o., The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ)

Paul Dacre, Editor-in-Chief, DMG Media

Chris Evans, Editor, the Telegraph

Tony Gallagher, Editor, the Times

Alessandra Galloni, Editor-in-Chief, Reuters

Isabel Hilton, Co-Chair, TBIJ

Ian Hislop, Editor, Private Eye

John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg News

Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

Paul Radu, Co-Executive Director, OCCRP

Richard Sambrook, Co-Chair, TBIJ

Aman Sethi, Editor-in-Chief, openDemocracy

Drew Sullivan, Publisher, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)

Ben Taylor, Editor, the Sunday Times

Emma Tucker, Editor-in-Chief, the Wall Street Journal

Ted Verity, Editor, the Daily Mail

Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief, the Guardian

Paul Webster, Editor, the Observer

Franz Wild, Editor, TBIJ

Associations, foundations and media support organisations

Lionel Barber, Chairman, The Wincott Foundation

Sarah Baxter, Director, Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting

Matthew Caruana Galizia, Director, The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation

Anthony Fargo, Director, Center for International Media Law and Policy Studies

George Freeman, Executive Director, Media Law Resource Center

Alexander Papachristou, Executive Director of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice

Michelle Stanistreet, General Secretary, National Union of Journalists

Sayra Tekin, Director of Legal, News Media Association

Lawyers and other legal professionals

Rupert Cowper-Coles, Partner and Head of Media, RPC

Matthew Dando, Partner and Head of Media Litigation, Wiggin LLP

David Hooper, Media Lawyer and writer on SLAPPs, Author, Buying Silence

Matthew Jury, Managing Partner, McCue Jury & Partners LLP

Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws KC, Director, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute

Nicola Namdjou, General Counsel at Global Witness

Gill Phillips, Editorial Legal Consultant

David Price KC

Pia Sarma, Editorial Legal Director, Times Newspapers Ltd

Mark Stephens CBE, Lawyer, Co-Chair International Bar Association Human Rights Committee, Trustee, Index on Censorship

Samantha Thompson, Media Defence Lawyer, RPC

Writers, journalists and authors

Catherine Belton, International investigative reporter, Washington Post, Author, Putin’s People

Tom Bergin, Author and investigative journalist, Reuters

Richard Brooks, Journalist, Private Eye

Bill Browder, Author, financier, and Head of Global Magnitsky Justice campaign

Tom Burgis, Author and investigations correspondent, the Guardian

Paul Caruana Galizia, Reporter, Tortoise Media

Bill Emmott, Journalist, author, and former editor-in-chief of the Economist

Peter Geoghegan, Journalist and author

George Greenwood, Investigations Reporter, the Times

Eliot Higgins, Author and journalist

Edward Lucas, Author, European and transatlantic security consultant and fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)

Thomas Mayne, Researcher and writer

Trevor Phillips, Broadcaster, writer and chair of Index on Censorship

Clare Rewcastle Brown, Journalist

Publishers

José Borghino, Secretary General, International Publishers Association

Dan Conway, CEO, Publishers Association

Andrew Franklin, Founder and publisher, Profile Books and trustee of Index on Censorship

Arabella Pike, Publishing Director, HarperCollins Publishers

Nicola Solomon, Chief Executive, Society of Authors

Academics

Peter Coe, Associate Professor in Law, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham

John Heathershaw, Professor of International Relations, University of Exeter

Andrew Scott, Associate Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science

Ursula Smartt, Media Lawyer, Associate Professor of Law, Northeastern University London