Dr Horton, Impact Fellow for the Centre for Freedom of the Media, will join a prestigious group to advise the European Commission to legislate against Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation.
Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are a common type of legal threat pressed against journalists conducting public interest reporting, to stop their stories from being published. They are often excessively aggressive and threatening, aiming to intimidate a journalist into abandoning their story. This is a rising global issue, recognised by UNESCO and the Council of Europe.
The stated mission of the European Commission’s Expert Group against SLAPPs is ‘to advise the Commission on any matter relating to the fight against SLAPPs or the support to their victims’, across the European member states.
This will involve collecting and monitoring instances of SLAPPs across Europe, providing support to victims of SLAPPs, and developing training and awareness around the issue.
The group is made up of academics, journalists and civil society organisations, providing a multi-stakeholder approach towards tackling SLAPPs.
Dr Horton’s membership in the group follows on from the recent launch of SLAPPsTraining.org, a dedicated online resource for student journalists dedicated to providing up-to-date information on SLAPPs, how they are typically brought, and how people can try to protect themselves against them.
Dr Horton, Impact Fellow in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, said: “I’m looking forward to working with the Expert Group on SLAPPs and building on the Centre for Freedom of the Media’s work on SLAPPs. SLAPPs remain a particular issue that require a dedicated multi-faceted approach. It is imperative that we work to try and ensure that public interest journalism is protected so that the important stories that need to be told are being able to be published without fear of legal threat.”
Find out more about the recent launch of the training website here.