If you’re tweeting about a controversial issue, publishing an investigative news report or writing an online review of a local business, you could face a defamation lawsuit aimed at silencing your speech.
That lawsuit may be meritless — you are presenting truthful information or expressing your opinion without defaming anyone — but you’ll have to defend against the lawsuit anyway. That costs money. Lots of it.
A SLAPP lawsuit, a reference to “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” is meant to intimidate a speaker into removing their comments and being quiet or punish someone for speaking out. Fortunately, lawmakers passed the Texas Citizens Participation Act in 2011 to remedy this problem and protect free speech. Texas is one of 32 states with an anti-SLAPP statute, and ours is considered among the strongest in the nation.
