Stand Against Proctorio’s SLAPP – Update #24

Hi all,

Thank you for all the nice messages of congratulations last week when we celebrated that parts of Proctorio’s lawsuit had been dismissed. Some of you may have thought this ordeal was over. It’s not, but it will be one day. Our appeal is moving forward and today is a big step.

I am pleased to announce that our factum has just been filed. It’s very educational and an important document. You may read it at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eO0friJOiXVL1kHyPmc2y89tWV-lVNC-/view?usp=sharing

The factum explains what our appeal is all about. It details the many mistakes that contributed to parts of Proctorio’s lawsuit being allowed to proceed. It proves that Proctorio’s lawsuit is meritless, and contains legal arguments to support its complete dismissal. I thank Catherine Boies Parker, Q.C. and Julia Riddle of Arvay Finlay LLP for their brilliant and tireless work protecting my freedom of expression from Proctorio’s lawsuit.

The Protection of Public Participation Act was enacted to screen out lawsuits which target expressions in the public interest unless the plaintiff can demonstrate serious harm as a result of those expressions. The uncontested truth is that Proctorio has suffered no harm because of my tweets. It’s ridiculous to claim that someone linking to your YouTube videos is somehow responsible for serious harm in any way, and they didn’t even try. Proctorio did not adduce any evidence of harm. It doesn’t exist. The PPPA was made for SLAPP cases like this one, where a rich company uses months/years of scarce court resources to silence one person over imaginary harms. My expressions were made with the sole purpose of protecting vulnerable students from Proctorio’s harmful surveillance software.

With my factum now filed, a 14 day period has begun where potential intervenors can seek leave to participate in the appeal. An intervenor is a third party who can contribute a unique perspective that will be useful to the Court of Appeal on the issues raised.

This case isn’t just about me and Proctorio. If you can be sued for a hyperlink, it could be any one of us next. We can’t let Proctorio win. Please stand against Proctorio and their Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. Tell others about what Proctorio is trying to do. This cannot become normal.

Today marks a major step forward, and I wouldn’t be here without your help. Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have hoped to make it this far without your support. One step at a time, we’ll get to the end together.

Sincerely,

Ian Linkletter