noun
chilling effect
Legal and social term for the discouragement of legitimate behavior by the threat of legal sanction or social pressure. Often used in discussions of free speech, journalism, and constitutional law.
この法律は表現の自由に萎縮効果をもたらすと批判されている。
This law is criticized for having a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
訴訟のリスクが報道の萎縮効果を生んでいる。
The risk of lawsuits is creating a chilling effect on journalism.
萎縮 means 'atrophy' or 'shrinkage' in a physical or metaphorical sense, while 萎縮効果 specifically refers to the legal/social 'chilling effect'.
Compound of 萎縮 (いしゅく, 'atrophy, shrinkage') and 効果 (こうか, 'effect'). The term is a calque of the English legal phrase 'chilling effect'.