We’ve repeatedly argued that legislation is necessary to resolve questions about when the Department of Justice media guidelines apply and to provide accountability in case of violations. So, what kind of accountability is there now?
With a reporter surveillance scandal of its own embroiling Biden’s Department of Justice, it’s now more important than ever for his administration to throw its weight behind passing a journalist shield law such as Senator Ron Wyden’s PRESS Act.
In the week since Politico dropped its blockbuster reporting on a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the floodgates of leaks have opened. That’s a good thing.
The Los Angeles County sheriff’s public threat of retaliatory investigation into a reporter is an outrageous press freedom violation, and Freedom of the Press Foundation has joined over two dozen groups last week in a letter condemning that action.
New York City Hall is out of line in demanding information about the criminal backgrounds and open cases of journalists applying for press credentials.
In an important ruling for the press’s ability to report freely on the work of other outlets, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that including a screenshot in an article commenting on another article's reporting is not copyright infringement. This is welcome news in an age where copyright can be used to restrict what newspapers can and can’t say about each other.
Lawmakers called for modernization and an answer to a “basic question about how FOIA is operating in the context of new technology.”
Russia has cracked down extensively on independent reporting within its borders since it invaded Ukraine last month, leading many outlets to cease publishing or pull editorial staff from the country entirely. Still, international and independent news outlets that would face official censorship within Russia are finding ways to distribute uncensored news to avid readers.
Journalists at independent news outlets in Russia have been arrested, raided, censored, and forced to flee in the past week.
The Supreme Court upheld and potentially expanded its pernicious “state secrets” privilege in two opinions late last week relating to expansive government surveillance and anti-terrorism programs.
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