Libel chill
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In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, the decision of a court, or the threat of a lawsuit; any legal action that would cause people to hesitate to exercise a legitimate right (freedom of speech or otherwise) for fear of legal repercussions. When that fear is brought about by the threat of a
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
lawsuit, it is called libel chill. A lawsuit initiated specifically for the purpose of creating a chilling effect may be called a
Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...
(SLAPP). "Chilling" in this context normally implies an undesirable slowing. Outside the legal context in common usage; any
coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
or threat of coercion (or other unpleasantries) can have a chilling effect on a group of people regarding a specific behavior, and often can be statistically measured or be plainly observed. For example, the news headline "Flood insurance ricespikes have chilling effect on some home sales," and the abstract title of a two-part survey of 160 college students involved in dating relationships: "The chilling effect of aggressive potential on the expression of complaints in intimate relationships."


Usage

In United States and Canadian law, the term ''chilling effects'' refers to the stifling effect that vague or excessively broad laws may have on legitimate speech activity. However, the term is also now commonly used outside American legal jargon, such as the chilling effects of high prices or of
corrupt police Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abuse their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police ...
, or of "anticipated aggressive repercussions" (in say, personal relationships). A chilling effect is an effect that reduces, suppresses, discourages, delays, or otherwise retards reporting concerns of any kind. An example of the "chilling effect" in Canadian case law can be found in ''Iorfida v. MacIntyre'' where the constitutionality of a criminal law prohibiting the publication of literature depicting illicit drug use was challenged. The court found that the law had a "chilling effect" on legitimate forms of expression and could stifle political debate on issues such as the legalization of marijuana. The court noted that it did not adopt the same "chilling effect" analysis used in American law but considered the chilling effect of the law as a part of its own analysis. Regarding
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu (born 2 November 1965) is a Turkish medical doctor (pulmonologist), human rights activist and an MP (Member of Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Turkish Grand National Assembly - TBMM) for the Peoples' Democratic P ...
's case in Turkey, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that Turkey's mis-use of counter-terrorism measures can have a chilling effect on the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and human rights.


History

In 1644
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
expressed the chilling effect of censorship in '' Areopagitica'': The term ''chilling effect'' has been in use in the United States since as early as 1950. The United States Supreme Court first refers to the "chilling effect" in the context of the United States Constitution in ''
Wieman v. Updegraff ''Wieman v. Updegraff'', 344 U.S. 183 (1952), is a unanimous ruling by the United States Supreme Court which held that Oklahoma loyalty oath legislation violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitutio ...
'' in 1952. It, however, became further used as a legal term when William J. Brennan, a justice of the United States Supreme Court, used it in a judicial decision (''
Lamont v. Postmaster General ''Lamont v. Postmaster General'', 381 U.S. 301 (1965), was a landmark First Amendment Supreme Court case, in which the ruling of the Supreme Court struck down § 305(a) of the Postal Service and Federal Employees Salary Act of 1962, a federal statu ...
'') which overturned a law requiring a postal patron receiving "communist political propaganda" to specifically authorize the delivery. The ''Lamont'' case, however, did not center around a law that explicitly stifles free speech. The "chilling effect" referred to at the time was a "deterrent effect" on freedom of expression—even when there is no law explicitly prohibiting it. However, in general, the term "chilling effect" is also used in reference to laws or actions that may not explicitly prohibit legitimate speech, but rather impose undue burden on speech.


Chilling effects on Wikipedia users

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
disclosed in 2013 that the US government's
Upstream Upstream may refer to: * Upstream (bioprocess) * ''Upstream'' (film), a 1927 film by John Ford * Upstream (networking) * ''Upstream'' (newspaper), a newspaper covering the oil and gas industry * Upstream (petroleum industry) * Upstream (software ...
program was collecting data on people reading Wikipedia articles. This revelation had significant impact on the
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
of the readers, as shown by the fact that there were substantially fewer views for articles related to terrorism and security. The court case ''
Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA '' Wikimedia Foundation, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al.'' is a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation and several other organizations against the National Security Agency (NSA ...
'' has since followed.


See also

* Censorship * Culture of fear * Fear mongering *
Media transparency Media transparency (or transparent media), also referred to as Media Opacity, is a concept that explores how and why information subsidies are being produced, distributed and handled by media professionals, including journalists, editors, public r ...
*
Opinion corridor Opinion corridor ( sv, åsiktskorridor, no, meningskorridor) refers to a sociopolitical phenomenon that has been observed during the beginning of the 21st century in Sweden, and to some extent also in Norway. The expression itself was originally ...
* Prior restraint *
Self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
*
Strategic lawsuit against public participation Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...


References


External links


Lumen
containing many current examples of alleged chilling effects



Chilling The Internet? Lessons from FCC Regulation of Radio Broadcasting
Libel Reform Campaign
The Chilling Effect of English libel law {{authority control Censorship Freedom of expression American legal terminology