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    Kiley and Durbin

    PRESS Act passes the House

    Newsletter

    The House of Representatives passed the PRESS Act by unanimous consent on Jan. 18, 2024. The act is a bipartisan reporter’s shield bill that would protect journalists from being forced to name their sources in federal court and would stop the federal government from spying on journalists through their technology providers. It’s the strongest shield bill we’ve ever seen — and also the one with the best chance of becoming law. Now it’s up to the Senate to finish the job.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation
    A portion of the Nov. 30, 2023, court order attempting to censor BusinessDen reporter Justin Wingerter

    The case for ignoring censorship orders

    Newsletter

    Our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented 11 prior restraints against journalists in 2023, the most since it started tracking them in 2017. The Supreme Court has called prior restraints — or government orders not to publish information — the “most serious” First Amendment violation. They are almost never constitutional. And yet, courts keep entering prior restraints with little regard for the law, leaving journalists censored while often slow-moving appellate processes play out.

    Freedom of the Press Foundation

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Photo Credit: Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch/IPX via AP