Biz, U.S.: Companies trying to “Slapp” out online criticism with lawsuits
- SLAPP means “strategic lawsuit against public participation.” The whole theory behind it is that people complain in public about a company’s service, and the company sues to get them to shut up. In prior eras, this may have meant speaking out at a city council meeting. Now, it means tweeting about bad service or putting up a Facebook group. Here’s the fate one guy met.
- $118 the amount Justin Kurtz had to pay after a towing company wrongly towed his car from his own apartment complex
- 12k the number of people who joined “Kalamazoo Residents against T&J Towing”; 800 joined in the first two days alone
- $750k the amount the towing company sued the Western Michigan University student for defamation source