We are blessed to live in a country with strong First Amendment freedoms. Thanks to legislation recently passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the people of Pennsylvania now have greater protection when they exercise those freedoms.

The tort of defamation protects people’s reputations and is an important check on free speech. It serves a valuable role in protecting people from being smeared by materially false statements of fact. But, all too often, people in the public eye have used defamation claims to punish critical news reporting and stifle critical commentary. These kinds of claims are SLAPP suits—Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. For far too long, they have been tolerated in Pennsylvania. For years, the message to journalists and commentators in Pennsylvania has been “proceed at your peril.” Plaintiffs have been allowed to pursue baseless claims and thereby force journalists and others to incur substantial costs to defend themselves. The result has been to deter some people from speaking out on matters of public concern and to compromise our commitment to freedom of speech.