DoomsdaysCW<p>How <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>corporate</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SLAPP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SLAPP</span></a> lawsuits endanger our rights and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/planet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>planet</span></a> </p><p>by Chris Greenberg<br>25 April 2023 </p><p>"Hope creates the conditions for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateAction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateAction</span></a>. And climate action nurtures hope. Just as hope and action have a reinforcing relationship, so do fear and silence. </p><p>"The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/polluting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>polluting</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>corporations</span></a> who put <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/profits" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>profits</span></a> over people and the planet know this and they use their resources to intimidate, to instill fear, and ultimately to silence the people directly impacted by their short-sighted, extractive greed. </p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SLAPPs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SLAPPs</span></a>, a type of abusive lawsuit, are a key tool used by corporate power to suppress <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FreeSpeech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FreeSpeech</span></a> and people power. These cynical lawsuits can force non-profit organizations like <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Greenpeace" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Greenpeace</span></a> International to divert precious resources away from campaigning for a more just and sustainable society. Perhaps even worse, SLAPPs can intimidate targets from challenging powerful corporations in the future.</p><p>"Every SLAPP, regardless of the defendant, is an attack on everyone who believes in the power of free speech and the right to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PeacefulProtest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PeacefulProtest</span></a>. No one should be bullied for speaking up on behalf of people and the planet. </p><p>"But CorporateBullies beware!</p><p>"In a massive win for free speech, a US federal court recently dismissed a seven-year lawsuit brought by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ResoluteForestryProducts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ResoluteForestryProducts</span></a> against a number of Greenpeace staff members and entities, including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenpeaceInternational" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GreenpeaceInternational</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenpeaceUSA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GreenpeaceUSA</span></a>. The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Canadian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Canadian</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/logging" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>logging</span></a> company sued the Greenpeace defendants for CA $100 million in an attempt to silence and bankrupt them, after criticism of its <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/unsustainable" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>unsustainable</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/forestry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>forestry</span></a> practices.</p><p>"Let’s take a closer look at SLAPPs so you can recognize them when you see them: </p><p>"What does <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SLAPP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SLAPP</span></a> stand for? SLAPP stands for '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StrategicLawsuitAgainstPublicParticipation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>StrategicLawsuitAgainstPublicParticipation</span></a> '. These lawsuits are used by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>corporations</span></a> attempting to diminish or even stop public participation in civil society. SLAPPs often lack any kind of merit, and don’t need to result in a legal victory to achieve the outcome desired by corporate bullies. </p><p>"SLAPPs waste time and cause financial and sometimes <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PsychologicalHarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PsychologicalHarm</span></a> to targeted individuals and organisations who have to hire <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lawyers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>lawyers</span></a> and engage in costly <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LegalBattles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LegalBattles</span></a>, sometimes to the point of facing bankruptcy. These lawsuits attempt to silence free speech and limit peaceful <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/dissent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>dissent</span></a> by using litigation as a tool for deterring non-violent protest and even documenting and bearing witness."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/59478/slapp-lawsuits-corporate-bullies-vs-free-speech/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">greenpeace.org/international/s</span><span class="invisible">tory/59478/slapp-lawsuits-corporate-bullies-vs-free-speech/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DigitalFreeSpeech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DigitalFreeSpeech</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DirectAction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DirectAction</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CriminalizingDissent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CriminalizingDissent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterProtectors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterProtectors</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ForestDefenders" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ForestDefenders</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalActivists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalActivists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateActivists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateActivists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateJustice</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SilencingDissent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SilencingDissent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CorporateColonialism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EcoActivists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EcoActivists</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Censorship" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Censorship</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HumanRightsViolations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HumanRightsViolations</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Article20" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Article20</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RightToProtest" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RightToProtest</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SlowMarch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SlowMarch</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigOilAndGas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BigOilAndGas</span></a></p>