A bill aimed at strengthening Montanans’ First Amendment rights became law just days before World Press Freedom Day. House Bill 292 is designed to protect the public from SLAPPs, which use the legal process and associated costs to intimidate or suppress speech a plaintiff doesn’t like. HB 292 allows for the early filing of a motion to dismiss a SLAPPand pauses all legal proceedings while the court considers that motion on an expedited timeline. Nearly three-quarters of legislatures around the country have adopted some form of anti-SLAPP legislation.