On Thursday, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) expressed support for the introduction of the Free Speech Protection Act. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation is spearheaded by Congressmen Jamie Raskin and Kevin Kiley, along with Senator Ron Wyden. The act has received endorsements from CDT and other civil society organizations such as the ACLU, EFF, First Amendment Foundation, and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

The proposed legislation aims to safeguard Americans' rights to free expression by providing mechanisms to dismiss and deter federal strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). Anti-SLAPP laws are designed to prevent courts from being used as tools to intimidate reporters, dissidents, and others who face unfounded lawsuits for exercising their First Amendment rights.

These types of lawsuits can lead to significant financial, reputational, and other losses for defendants even when they manage to have baseless claims dismissed. The Free Speech Protection Act seeks to reduce these burdens by establishing an expedited motion to dismiss for defendants who can show that they are being sued for exercising constitutional rights related to freedom of speech or press, assembly or petitioning, or association on matters of public concern.