Maine has enacted stronger anti-SLAPP protections after passing a statute based on the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), a model statute that provides some of the strongest protections against meritless claims designed to chill free speech. The bill, L.D. 870 (S.P. 367), became law without the Governor’s signature on April 13, 2024. Prior to the enactment of this new law, Maine’s anti-SLAPP law was narrow in scope, applying only to the right of petition under the federal and state constitutions. Maine now joins six other states in enacting the robust protections provided by the UPEPA statute that help to protect journalists and the public from retaliatory lawsuits intended to intimidate the free exercise of their First Amendment rights.
Charlotte McBirney is Senior Counsel and Director, Public Policy for the News/Media Alliance.
