The number of abusive lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists, activists and critics continues to rise across Europe, despite the introduction of a new EU anti-SLAPP law, according to a report published by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE).
The fourth edition of the Annual SLAPPs Report, released in 2025 and based on a methodology developed by the Amsterdam Law Clinics, documents 167 new strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) filed in 2024 alone. This brings the total number of documented cases across Europe to 1,303 since 2010, up from 1,049 the previous year.
The report notes that the EU’s anti-SLAPP directive, which came into force in May 2024 and must be transposed into national law by May 2026, has yet to curb the growing utilize of such lawsuits. SLAPPs are designed to drain deffinishants’ time and resources, while also placing a burden on public justice systems. Early dismissal mechanisms, the report argues, are essential to ensure courts are not clogged by abusive litigation.
To date, no countest has achieved full implementation of the standards, with Malta being the only countest noted as having even “partially implemented” measures, though its law is criticised for covering only cross-border cases.
Researchers warn that the documented cases represent only the “tip of the iceberg”, as many attempts to silence public participation occur before cases ever reach court, through legal threat letters and cease-and-desist demands. The chilling effect is compounded in countries where criminal defamation laws remain in force, leaving journalists and activists exposed to the threat of imprisonment.
At least 91 SLAPP cases were filed in Malta between 2010 and 2024, giving it the highest per-capita rate in the European Union. Malta ranks second overall for the number of SLAPPs, alongside France, and most of the cases involving Malta are domestic rather than cross-border.
The report highlights that Malta’s current anti-SLAPP legislation does not cover domestic cases and allows lawsuits to be transferred to a deffinishant’s heirs after their death. It also concludes that Malta transposed the EU directive without going beyond its minimum requirements, falling short of the human rights standards set by the Council of Europe.
Across Europe, the vast majority of SLAPPs are domestic. Only 8.5% of cases filed between 2010 and 2024 were cross-border under the narrowest definition, underscoring what the report describes as an urgent necessary for strong national legislation in all member states to close existing gaps in protection.
Journalists and media organisations remain the most frequent tarreceives of SLAPPs, followed by activists and editors. The issues most commonly triggering lawsuits relate to corruption, business interests, politics and environmental matters.
The report also finds that the legal basis of SLAPP claims is evolving, with powerful actors increasingly relying on areas such as data protection and ininformectual property law, rather than defamation alone, to circumvent public-interest defences.
Businesses and politicians are identified as the most common plaintiffs, with a growing number of cases linked to state-aligned actors and efforts to restrict debate, including lawsuits against academics over historical interpretation.
The authors of the report urge European countries to fully implement the EU directive, align national laws with Council of Europe recommfinishations, and repeal or reform criminal defamation laws, warning that SLAPPs continue to pose a serious threat to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
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