08-08, 15:30–15:55 (Poland), Warsaw (20+24)(interpretation)
Language: English
Wikimedia has been sued in at least four EU countries with the explicit aim to restrict unwated information. The EU has recently passed a directive introducing some protections against such obviously ill-intended cases. Member states will have two years to introduce protections into national law and we want to offer communities a chance to participate in the process.
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence public criticism or unwanted information by burdening journalists or editors with the cost of a legal defense.
Wikimedia projects, entities and individual editors have been the target of SLAPP cases in Estonia, Portugal, Italy and France, to mention some cases.
Recently the European Union passed a Anti-SLAPP Directive which EU member states will have two years to transpose. Simultaneously, the Council of Europe adopted a recommendation on Anti-SLAPP measures.
These are welcome developments, but now the ball is in the court of national legislators. They will need to translate these new frameworks into concrete national laws. Wikimedia and Wikimedians would benefit from seeing a few precise safeguards added, such as an early dismissal, damages and the cross-border nature of online projects.
We are preparing transposition notes to give communities and individual a guide to what is important and would like to help you participate in the national process.
Session recording: https://youtu.be/E6YnrJs8cYs?t=20460
SLAPP lawsuits are designed to limit open collaboration on knowledge. We want better safeguards.
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Policy Director @ WMEU. Love coffee, hate carrot juice.
Michele works as Senior EU Law & Policy Advisor at Wikimedia Europe. When a new piece of legislation is passed, he advocates to ensure that Wikimedia projects and the Wikimedia movement are preserved. He strives to be sure that lawmakers as well as regulators widely understand the Wikimedia model and respect its functioning & values. In his efforts, he closely works with the Foundation's public policy team and the European national chapters.
He is passionate about EU & media law and the commons.