Press Freedom in South Dakota
Protected — by a law newer than this grade
against retaliatory lawsuits over what you say
IFS grade
South Dakota has an anti-SLAPP law that this grade predates.
South Dakota became the 40th state to enact statutory anti-SLAPP protections. It was enacted on March 16, 2026, after the 2025 Report Card was published, and the Institute for Free Speech has announced it but not yet regraded the state. The F above describes the law as it stood before that — treat it as history, not as South Dakota's current status. IFS announcement
On the 2025 Report Card, South Dakota scored 0 of 100 with a grade of F. That is what the law it has since replaced was worth; the 51-jurisdiction median was 85.
How much of what you say the statute reaches
What it actually does once it applies
The overall score is two parts coverage to one part protections, as IFS weights them.
What South Dakota actually gives a defendant
The five protections IFS scores. A statute can cover every kind of speech and still leave a defendant paying their own lawyer for two years.
- Case pauses while the motion is heardNothing: 0 / 20
- Plaintiff must show the case has meritNothing: 0 / 12
- Denial can be appealed at onceNothing: 0 / 25
- Winning defendant recovers legal costsNothing: 0 / 40
- Courts told to read the law broadlyNothing: 0 / 3
Incidents logged in South Dakota
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has logged 1 press-freedom incidents in South Dakota since 2014, of which 0 are since January 1, 2021.
- Subpoena/Legal Order1
Legal demands for notes, sources or footage
This is a count, not a score. It tracks where the protests and the newsrooms are as much as where the law is hostile, so a big state will out-count a small one whatever its statute says. An incident can carry more than one category, so the categories sum to more than the total. Nothing here is added to the anti-SLAPP score.
Where this comes from
The grade and the five component scores are the Institute for Free Speech's 2025 Report Card entry for South Dakota. Incident counts are the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, used under CC BY 4.0. Both retrieved September 19, 2026. The score is IFS's own judgement and is not part of the FreedomRankings score.
Anti-SLAPP law is one part of press freedom, not all of it — shield laws, public records law and how South Dakota courts actually rule are not scored here. None of this is legal advice; talk to a lawyer about an actual dispute.