Polityka Unii Europejskiej wobec strategicznych działań prawnych zmierzających do stłumienia debaty publicznej (SLAPP) w mediach
European Union policy on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the media

Summary/Abstract: Freedom of expression is a value of the European Union that requires special protection in view of the emergence of new threats. The significant ones of these threats are SLAPP lawsuits. The aim of this article is to present the European Union's policy on SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). The following research questions are addressed in this study: (1) to what extent do SLAPP lawsuits restrict freedom of expression and public debate? (2) what is the EU's policy on restricting and counteracting SLAPP? The analysis is based on a review of the literature on the subject and official EU legal acts and documents. The study identified the objectives, actors and instruments of EU policy implementation. The research outcomes demonstrate that the main objective of EU policy towards SLAPP is to counteract the occurrence of such lawsuits and to protect defendants. Various instruments are used for this purpose, the most important of which are legal regulations. Financial mechanisms and, in the future, monitoring are also important. The European Union implements its policy on SLAPP in cooperation with Member States, with significant involvement of non-governmental organisations. The biggest limitation in the fight against SLAPP is that EU policy refers to cross-border SLAPP, while the phenomenon itself most often occurs at the national level.

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