The U.S. House of Representatives has passed (HR 4250), and the Senate desperately needs to hurry up and pass (S 2074) a basic shield law that severely limits the ability of the government to force a reporter to reveal a confidential source.

The PRESS Act also blocks the government from forcing a "service provider" to spy on and reveal a journalist's private communications.

With sensible exceptions for preventing imminent violent crime, this bill is strong, straightforward, and reflects widespread longstanding consensus. The New York Times summarizes the issue:

"Safeguarding the anonymity of reporters’ sources is . . . a need that several federal courts have found is implicit in the First Amendment. It has been recognized by governments or courts in 49 states and the District of Columbia as a form of protection for journalists and news outlets against unfair or overbearing efforts by government to ferret out their sources, punish whistle-blowers and scare off others who might consider speaking up about wrongdoing."

Click here to join RootsAction and a major coalition of organizations in telling the Senate to protect journalists now!

While states protect journalists in this way, as the New York Times notes,

"There is nothing of the sort . . . on the federal level, where the need is arguably greatest, in part because of the rapid evolution of electronic snooping and the fallout of sharply polarized politics. Having a federal law on the books would provide a higher level of protection than the recognition now provided by most federal circuit courts. . . .

"Administrations of both parties — and especially those of Barack Obama and Donald Trump — have tried varying means to block leaks that would be in the public interest and to pressure reporters into revealing their sources. Attorney General Merrick Garland ended these abuses for the duration of President Biden’s administration, announcing that the Justice Department would no longer dig through the phone records of reporters to identify sources for leak investigations. Without a law in place, though, a future administration could easily reinstate that practice."

Let's make this violation of the First Amendment explicitly illegal. Click here to add your voice!

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-- The RootsAction.org team

Background:

>> New York Times: "A Reporter's Shield Law Is Vital to Prevent Abuses of Power"
>> The House bill
>> The Senate bill

RootsAction.org