News

Spain: Energy company launches €17.6 million SLAPP lawsuit against El Confidencial

14/02/2022

MFRR partners condemn the vexatious SLAPP lawsuit against the newspaper El Confidencial by the Spanish electricity company Iberdrola, which is claiming €17.6 million for alleged “reputational damage”. The MFRR partners see the lawsuit as another example of the urgent need for the introduction of anti-SLAPP legislation at the EU and national levels and reform of the current legal provisions on protection of honour and reputation in line with international freedom of expression standards

Needs and Gaps Brief No. 2: Ireland

08/02/2022

The second of a series of briefs presenting the results of the forthcoming Needs and Gaps analysis

Curated by Maria Francesca Rita

Poland: Dismissal of SLAPP-targeted journalist Grzegorz Rzeczkowski sets concerning precedent

07/02/2022

The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) extend their support to journalist Grzegorz Rzeczkowski who faces four SLAPPs and was recently dismissed by Polityka, one of the major independent weekly magazines in Poland, without a transparent reason

Malta: Media battle for access to public information

07/02/2022

Press freedom groups raise concern over unprecedented FOI obstructions

UN-EU High-level Policy Dialogue on safety of journalists and media freedom

04/02/2022

Under the title "Protecting the safety of journalists, media freedom and pluralism in the European Union: challenges and opportunities", a full day of discussions and meetings will analyze the state of media freedom and safety of journalists, collecting recommendations and stories. On 24 February 2022, from 9:30 to 18:00, the event will be both in-person in Brussels, and online

Turkey: a call to release Sedef Kabaş

01/02/2022

We joined the call of the International Press Institute, signed by other 25 human rights and journalists’ organizations, to ask for the immediate release of journalist Sedef Kabaş following her late-night arrest on January 22 and for an end to the judicial harassment of independent media

SLAPP petition delivered to EU Commission

01/02/2022

On Tuesday 1st February the CASE Coalition (coalition against SLAPPs in Europe) handed over 200,000 signatures to Věra Jourová, Vice-President and Commissioner for Values and Transparency, to ask for a strong response against abusive lawsuits

Albania: news outlets faced cyber attacks following reports about Mayor of Tirana

28/01/2022

Cyber-attacks on news outlets believed to be in relation to their reporting on Tirana’s Mayor Erion Veliaj and the appointment of government loyalist Endri Fuga to lead the Media and Information Agency add to existing challenges for media freedom in Albania. We call for a swift and effective investigation into these attacks and condemn the appointment of Fuga to head the newly established agency

Last days to advocate against SLAPPs

28/01/2022

The CASE, Coalition against SLAPPs in Europe, will deliver the petition to the vice president of the European Commission Vera Jourova: hundreds of organizations all over Europe are asking for remedies and proposals to tackle strategic lawsuits against public participation

Lithuania: investigative journalism and privacy

27/01/2022

Today, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation have written to Director Raimondas Andrijauskas and Deputy Director Danguolė Morkūnienė of the Lithuanian State Data Protection Inspectorate (SDPI)’s to express concern at their attempted obstruction of investigative project “Karštos Pėdos” (“Hot Feet”)’s journalistic activity