Slapps were commonly used against journalists in Croatia, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, while reporters in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Poland were placed under surveillance from spyware such as Pegasus and Predator.
Slapps were commonly used against journalists in Croatia, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, while reporters in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Poland were placed under surveillance from spyware such as Pegasus and Predator.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Media freedom is declining across the EU and “perilously close to breaking point” in several countries, a leading civil liberties network has said, highlighting widespread threats against journalists and attacks on the independence of public broadcasters.
“Media freedom is clearly in steady decline across the EU – in many countries as a result of deliberate harm or neglect by national governments,” said Eva Simon, the senior advocacy officer at Liberties.
It also documented multiple instances of threats, intimidation, surveillance and violence against journalists in several member states, as well as restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information across the bloc.
The UK’s Solicitors Regulation Authority defines Slapps as “an alleged misuse of the legal system, and the bringing or threatening of proceedings, in order to harass or intimidate … thereby discouraging scrutiny of matters in the public interest”.
In Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and the Netherlands, journalists critical of the government found themselves excluded from press conferences or other official events, or were denied documents they should have had access to.
In Hungary, public service media was already “so completely under the yoke of the government” that its output was “characterised by biased and one-sided reporting that is always in line with the interests of the ruling Fidesz party”, Liberties said.
The original article contains 654 words, the summary contains 212 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!