The fourth edition of the Annual SLAPPs Report, prepared by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, showed Saturday that 91 SLAPP cases were filed in Malta between 2010 and 2024.
The report was compiled on behalf of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), based on methodology developed by the Amsterdam Law Clinics in 2019.
The 2025 report by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation finds that the number of abusive lawsuits continues to rise across Europe, even in the face of the EU's new anti-SLAPP law, which came into force in May 2024 and which countries have until May 2026 to transpose into national law.
SLAPPs function by wasting the defendant's time and resources. They are also a drain on public resources. Early dismissal of SLAPPs helps make the justice system more efficient by freeing up the court's time and case capacity.
A total of 167 new abusive lawsuits were added to CASE's database in 2024, an increase from 166 in 2023. Additionally, new cases were identified for previous years, bringing the total number of documented SLAPPs to 1,303, up from 1,049 the previous year.
The report's total of 1,303 documented SLAPPs is acknowledged to be the "tip of the iceberg." This is because the majority of censorship is achieved at the pre-litigation stage through the use of aggressive legal threat letters and cease-and-desist demands. Furthermore, the threat remains acute because SLAPP targets continue to face the threat of custodial sentences under national criminal defamation laws. This ultimate chilling effect, combined with the fear of retaliation, ensures that many threats or cases never enter the public domain, the foundation said.
The continued prevalence and sophisticated use of SLAPPs indicate that countries should not underestimate the threat they present to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The findings of the CASE Report 2025 strongly support the need for countries in Europe to not only fully transpose the EU Directive and the Council of Europe recommendations, but also to repeal or reform national criminal defamation laws which continue to pose the ultimate threat of imprisonment to activists and journalists.
SLAPPs in Malta
At least 91 SLAPP cases were filed in Malta in the years 2010-2024, making Malta's per capita SLAPP rate the highest in the EU.
Malta is currently the second ranking country for the overall number of SLAPPs, alongside France.
Urgent need across Europe for legal protection against domestic SLAPP cases
Only 8.5% of cases filed in the period 2010-2024 were cross-border based on the narrowest definition. This reality underscores the fact that the vast majority of SLAPPs are purely domestic, making robust, mandatory national legislation in every Member State an urgent necessity to close this protective gap. The more extensive application of the definition of cross-border to SLAPP cases may not be so straightforward, and as a result, the percentage of cases covered by the directive may not increase significantly.
Cases documented across Europe
Documented SLAPPs reached 1,303 since 2010, with 167 filed in 2,024 alone, and the problem is now identified in 43 countries, adding Montenegro and Andorra to the map. The threat has evolved, moving beyond traditional defamation to exploit complex legal areas like data protection and intellectual property. These findings underscore the urgent need for more robust, comprehensive anti-SLAPP protection measures on both national and international levels.
Legal basis of SLAPP claims is evolving
Powerful actors are strategically diversifying their legal claims beyond traditional defamation to exploit procedural complexities and circumvent the public interest defences established for free expression. While the large majority of SLAPPs are based on national defamation laws, the data confirms the rising use of alternative legal vehicles.