You are looking at articles written by Camille Fassett.

An important free speech statute that protects journalists in Texas is in danger

The Citizen Participation Act — which protests journalists and news organizations from meritless legal action in Texas — is in serious danger.

The Freedom of Information Act is getting worse under the Trump administration

FOIA is a deeply broken law that remains a critical tool for journalists, activists, and community residents who seek to illuminate government activities.

California AG refuses to rule out legal action against public records journalists, in new statements

'It's either the case that the Attorney General of California is ... suggesting he can [prosecute] just to intimidate those journalists—or that he doesn't know what California law says. I don't find either option very comforting.'

In a brewing First Amendment fight, California’s Attorney General threatens journalists for possessing a public records document

Reporters obtained a list of police convictions through a public records request. California’s Attorney General, claiming its mere possession is a misdemeanor crime, is threatening them with legal action.

The US government is increasingly targeting journalists at the US-Mexico border

Numerous journalists covering the migrant caravan have been subjected to secondary screenings at the US-Mexico border, questioned, and searched. It’s not the first time CBP has targeted the press.

How Trump’s government shutdown ground transparency to a halt

During Trump’s 35 day partial government shutdown—the longest in history—FOIA requests and FOIA litigation ground to a halt.

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.

Another ‘ag-gag’ law struck down as a First Amendment violation, yet several states still have them in place

Despite a long history of journalists going undercover to investigate and shed light on secretive industries like the animal agriculture industry, several states have statutes—commonly known as ‘ag gag’ laws—that …

Canadian police block journalists from covering pipeline protest in British Columbia

The Royal Mounted Canadian Police are preventing journalists from covering members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s opposition to the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would run through British …

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in 2018: Year two of documenting attacks on the press in the Trump era

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented numerous attacks on journalists and press freedom rights across the country in 2018, from arrests to physical attacks and prosecutions of sources.