Featured Items
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Federal court dismisses dangerous charges in lawsuit that threatens First Amendment
A lawsuit by a logging company against environmental groups is a prime example of how corporations bring lawsuits in an attempt to drain their critics of resources and intimidate them into silence.
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Copyright lawsuit over Trump photo use is a press freedom fight, too
In a decision that could have dangerous reverberations for press freedom, a federal district judge ruled last week that Esquire violated a copyright held by a Deutsche Bank vice president when it published his photo of Donald Trump crashing a stranger’s wedding at his New Jersey club.
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Federal judge reinstates CNN reporter’s press pass after Trump revoked it for critical coverage
After the White House unilaterally revoked CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass last week, a federal judge has temporarily ordered the White House to reinstate it immediately.
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Prisons are censoring publications that challenge state power
Many civil liberties violations and instances of state abuse that incarcerated people experience are rendered invisible from the rest of the country. Prisons are cracking down on incarcerated people’s rights to access information, learn, and read the news—a huge threat to the First and Fourth Amendments.
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Supreme Court rules police need a warrant for your cell phone location data
Law enforcement can no longer claim people have no right to privacy when using a cell phone, and must obtain a warrant to collect historical location data, the Supreme Court ruled today in the long-awaited Carpenter v. United States. This ruling marks a victory for the First and Fourth Amendments, and for journalism.
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Why is ICE interfering with journalists covering immigration hearings?
An ICE attorney twice objected to the presence of a reporter at a deportation hearing earlier this month. This isn’t the first time ICE has interfered with journalists doing their jobs.
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An independent journalist explains how the Freedom of Information Act is broken
There are many side effects to being stonewalled: disbelief, anger, disillusionment, and, of course, repeating yourself. I have experienced them all. Since early 2012, I’ve been trying to access evidence from one of the most significant prescription drug-dealing trials in U.S. history, which ended with Dr. Paul Volkman – who …
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Help stop billionaires from silencing journalists and critics protected by the First Amendment
The First Amendment provides the press some of the greatest protections in the world against liability from powerful forces attempting to use libel law to silence critics. Unfortunately, that won’t stop many wealthy individuals and corporations from trying to sue smaller news organizations and bloggers—even knowing they will lose the …
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Government declares monopoly on right to call journalist James Risen as witness
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. As Josh Gerstein first reported, the government has just asked the judge in the Jeffrey Sterling trial, Leonie Brinkema, to declare James Risen unavailable as a witness. After …
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Transparency bill on the verge of passing is being blocked by Sen. Rockefeller
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. FOIA Reform The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 is on the verge of passing. One senator away, in fact. As of Friday, only Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.V.) …