Congress has reintroduced the PRESS Act. Now lawmakers must pass it.
AP Photo/Jim Mone
The PRESS Act is the most important press freedom bill in modern history.
The PRESS Act would protect journalists from being forced to reveal their confidential sources in federal court and would stop the federal government from spying on journalists— including through tech companies like Google and Facebook.
Its modern definition of ‘journalist’ would protect reporters big and small from across the political spectrum – whether they work at a mainstream news organization, an alternative outlet, are independent, or freelance. It has broad bipartisan support and has already passed the House unanimously.
Featured Items
-
For student journalists, the beats are the same but the protections are different
Student journalists, plagued by questions of editorial independence and with varying degrees of First Amendment protections, nonetheless face the same press freedom challenges as their professional counterparts.The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which documents First Amendment aggressions in the United States, has collected student journalism-based incidents at both the university …
-
Tell Rep. Adam Schiff to remove this dangerous secrecy provision from this year’s intelligence bill
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff inserted a provision in the House's intel bill that threatens press freedom.
-
A new law is already stifling online expression and hurting sex workers
President Trump signed SESTA/FOSTA into law today. While it has been touted by lawmakers as a tool to crack down on sex trafficking, it will drastically expand online censorship and endanger the people it intends to protect.
-
Inside the fight to prevent censorship of Indiana student journalists
After a group of Indiana high school student journalists published an issue of their magazine about dating, their school implemented a policy of content review prior to publication. Some students say that this amounts to censorship that is compromising their journalisitic educaiton.
-
Justice Department report directly contradicts the Attorney General’s claims about the Patriot Act
In the midst of the last-minute Congressional debate about whether to re-authorize Patriot Act Section 215, the Justice Department Inspector General (IG) released a long awaited report today on how the FBI has used (and abused) Section 215 for the past few years. Unfortunately, the report is heavily redacted so …
-
Here’s How You Can Join Us in Calling For NSA Reform in Congress
Today, Freedom of the Press Foundation is proud to join organizations worldwide in opposing mass, suspicionless surveillance. We’re at a turning point in the fight for surveillance reform. Thanks to surveillance revelations, we now know that the NSA—in partnership with intelligence agencies around the world—is sweeping up vast quantities …
