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    Reed Dunlea arrest courtesy Stephanie Keith

    Stop arresting journalists

    Arrests/Prosecutions•Newsletter

    Just a few months into 2024, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented four arrests or detentions of journalists covering protests in New York, Tennessee, and California. These arrests violate journalists’ rights, and they undermine the right of the public to learn about newsworthy events happening in their communities. They also show the disturbing and stubborn persistence of a system of policing that either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about First Amendment rights.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    assange_2.original (1)

    UK grants Assange another hearing

    Newsletter

    On Tuesday, the High Court in London granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange another hearing on his extradition to the United States, averting — at least temporarily — a press freedom catastrophe. While we’re glad that Assange isn’t being immediately extradited, the threat to journalists from the Espionage Act charges against him remains.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

    ‘National security’ claims don’t trump First Amendment

    Newsletter

    Most analyses of Monday’s Supreme Court argument in Murthy v. Missouri, the case about government pressure on social media content moderation, agree that the justices are likely to rule that the government can influence platforms’ moderation decisions. But when it comes to alleged threats to “national security,” some justices seemed willing to let the government go even further by coercing — or even requiring — takedowns.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    San José Spotlight City Hall reporter Jana Kadah conducts a phone interview

    The public pays for records lawsuits

    Newsletter

    Public records and freedom of information laws are fundamental for government transparency. But when journalists fight for access to wrongfully withheld records at the state and local level, the public is paying the price, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Over the past year alone, local governments have paid journalists at least $1.6 million in attorneys fees — all of which was financed by taxpayers — following public records lawsuits.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Photo courtesy of Tim Burke

    Indictment threatens digital journalism

    Newsletter

    The disturbing indictment against journalist Tim Burke reportedly arises in part from Burke’s dissemination of outtakes from a 2022 Tucker Carlson interview with Ye. Federal prosecutors accuse Burke of “scouring” the internet for news and failing to obtain express authorization before accessing information posted on public websites. Requiring journalists to get permission to report news is, obviously, problematic. Read more in our newsletter.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Assange_credit Londres (Reino Unido), 18 de Agosto 2014

    Help save the First Amendment

    Newsletter

    The High Court in London is hearing arguments this week on whether to extradite Julian Assange to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act for obtaining and publishing secret documents from a source — also known as journalism. We’re doing everything we can to urge the Department of Justice to drop the Espionage Act charges against Assange ahead of his potential extradition. You can help.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    KAM Junk Draft Assange--text only

    Assange case threatens journalism

    Newsletter

    Next week, the High Court in London will consider whether Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act for obtaining government secrets from a source and publishing them. Even if you don’t like Assange, or don’t think he’s a journalist, his case poses an existential threat to the First Amendment rights of the journalists you do like.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    0e4dfff5-f0c3-9060-cdca-95ddd5969a20

    Harsh punishments for leakers hurt journalism

    Newsletter

    Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn received the maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment on Monday, after pleading guilty to leaking Donald Trump’s returns to The New York Times. Littlejohn also leaked a tranche of ultrawealthy Americans’ tax documents to ProPublica. It’s sadly ironic that Littlejohn is being harshly punished for exposing billionaire tax evasion while billionaire tax evaders themselves continue to be afforded leniency by the judiciary.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation

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Photo Credit: Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch/IPX via AP