The 56 journalists arrested or detained in the United States in 2021 approaches the combined totals of 2017, 2018, and 2019 — an alarming indicator of the state of press freedom, according to a new report released by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Today's decision to allow this prior restraint of New York Times publishing to continue — and to restrict the paper's reporters from engaging in common newsgathering activities besides — is a shameful development. It is a cornerstone of speech law in this country that any prior restraint, even a very temporary one, is constitutionally permissible only in the most extreme scenarios. As the Times noted in its briefing on the issue, the result has been that such an order has not been entered against it since the Pentagon Papers case some 50 years ago.
A trial court judge has ordered The New York Times to stop disseminating information related to Project Veritas, in a shocking act of both prior restraint and restriction on protected newsgathering activities. Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, cited the Pentagon Papers case in calling the ruling "unconstitutional" and noting that it "sets a dangerous precedent." We agree.
The FBI raid of James O'Keefe is a troubling development for press freedom. That the potential story was not a blockbuster public interest investigation, and that O’Keefe and Project Veritas have a long history of deception and manipulation, do not change that fact.
The United States prosecution of Julian Assange is a threat to press freedom around the globe. A coalition of more than two dozen press freedom, civil liberties, and international human rights groups is demanding the charges be dropped.
A shocking investigation by Yahoo News shows the CIA contemplated kidnapping and assassination against the Wikileaks publisher.
A brave whistleblower served as a source to stories that shaped the public understanding of the otherwise secret U.S. drone program. He's serving a prison sentence as lawmakers reckon with the very information he revealed.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act — a bill introduced with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and a notable slate of Democratic backers in the Senate — aims to shore up small local news outlets with a collection of temporary benefits and give them time to retool.
Apple announced Friday that it would postpone its planned roll-out of user device surveillance technology that had come under heavy fire from the privacy and civil liberties community. It should drop the plans entirely.
Legislative Branch records don’t receive the kind of public scrutiny the Freedom of Information Act brings to the Executive, but that could change thanks to a novel lawsuit over video records related to the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
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