Anti-SLAPP petition delivered to Bundestag Judiciary Committee
Germany: Intimidation, threats, lawsuits – that’s how criticism is crushed. Germany is debating a law against SLAPP suits, which are a growing threat to civil society. Rainforest Rescue says the draft would do little to help and has presented a petition with 50,005 signatures to members of the Judiciary Committee.
“The draft law has serious loopholes in its protections,” says Marianne Klute, chair of Rainforest Rescue. “Because it does not cover out-of-court intimidation such as warning letters and cease-and-desist declarations, a law this weak would not have protected us from the recent SLAPP attempts.”
In July 2025, a law firm sent four warning letters within just a few days, each demanding a cease-and-desist declaration. “We rejected the demands, but the legal attack still cost time and money. Members of the Bundestag must make sure this law has more bite and protects people from attacks like these,” Marianne Klute continues.
To do that, the law must: cover out-of-court measures, cover purely domestic cases within Germany, and become prohibitively expensive for plaintiffs who abuse the law. In addition, the funding of the No SLAPP contact point must be secured.
Civil society organizations, journalists, scientists, and engaged citizens are increasingly facing costly lawsuits or warning letters meant not to enforce legitimate rights, but to intimidate critical voices.
The European Union therefore adopted an anti-SLAPP directive in April 2024, which Rainforest Rescue also supported through a petition with 213,432 signatures. Germany must implement this EU requirement.
The draft law from the Ministry of Justice now under discussion has, however, been significantly watered down compared with the ministry’s earlier draft. It was evidently weakened at the urging of the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group, as became clear during the first reading of the bill in the Bundestag on February 26. The thrust of the speeches was that Germany should not “over-implement” EU directives and that there is generally no problem with intimidation lawsuits in Germany because the German legal system works.
The reality is different. That is clear from the many inquiries received by the No SLAPP contact point. When critics of a strong law claim that few intimidation lawsuits become known in Germany, they ignore the nature of the problem – after all, the aim of SLAPPs is to silence their targets.
Kira Geadah of Fridays for Future says: “The current draft law is a slap in the face for committed citizens. Civil society engagement for climate and democracy, as well as critical journalism, are increasingly being targeted by abusive lawsuits. That is dangerous for democracy because it shrinks the space for public participation.”
At the same time the petition was handed over, 24 organizations, including Rainforest Rescue and Fridays for Future, voiced the same criticism in an open letter (in German).
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Intimidation, threats, lawsuits – we need a law with teeth to stop legal bullies!
Germany’s anti-SLAPP proposal is too weak. Activists need a law that truly protects against corporate intimidation.
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