The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on December 12 joined nearly 40 other press freedom and civil liberty organizations in a letter to US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging him to advance the PRESS Act in a 2022 end-of-year omnibus bill.
The legislation would create a federal shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to disclose their sources or information obtained while newsgathering. It has bipartisan support in the US House of Representatives.
In the letter, it is said:
Dear Leader Schumer:
We, the undersigned press freedom organizations, government accountability and civil liberties organizations, and media outlets, urge you to include the PRESS Act (H.R. 4330/S. 2457) in a 2022 end-of-year omnibus bill. The PRESS Act is a strong shield law protecting journalists from surveillance or compelled disclosure of source materials except in emergency situations.
The PRESS Act is a bipartisan bill. The House passed the PRESS Act unanimously in September and Americans of all political leanings agree on the need to reduce government surveillance. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and major media outlets nationwide have come out in support of the PRESS Act.
We know you understand the importance of this legislation – as well as its bipartisan appeal – because you and Sen. Lindsey Graham sponsored a similar shield bill, the Free Flow of Information Act, almost a decade ago. You rightly recognized then that shield legislation like the PRESS Act “would provide clear and meaningful protection at the federal level for journalists against improper intrusion into the free press.”
Forty nine states, red and blue alike, have either passed shield laws or recognized some form of reporter’s privilege. The federal courts are the outlier and protections vary widely between appellate circuits, creating unpredictability for journalists and their sources. One federal appellate court admitted that journalists’ investigative capabilities “would be enhanced” if they were shielded from government-compelled disclosure. “But they are not,” it concluded, leaving journalists subject to intimidation and arrest for protecting sources.
This year, the Department of Justice took a step towards remedying the problem by adopting new policies restricting subpoenas and seizures from journalists. 28 CFR 50.10. Attorney General Garland released the following statement in connection with those policies:
Because freedom of the press requires that members of the news media have the freedom to investigate and report the news, the new regulations are intended to provide enhanced protection to members of the news media from certain law enforcement tools and actions that might unreasonably impair newsgathering.
The PRESS Act would codify the DOJ’s policies so they cannot be changed or repealed by future administrations.
A “cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press” that promotes transparency and accountability benefits all facets of government, including national security. Nonetheless, the PRESS Act recognizes law enforcement concerns through an exemption when information is necessary to “prevent, or to identify any perpetrator of, an act of terrorism against the United States.” It then establishes common sense procedures to ensure that the exemption is not abused. S. 2457, 117th Cong. §§ 3, 4.
The DOJ now recognizes that “freedom of the press can be no broader than the freedom of members of the news media to investigate and report the news.” The Fourth Estate is not free as long as prosecutors and investigators are empowered to commandeer newsrooms in disregard of the media’s constitutionally-recognized independence.
It is crucial that you act before this Congress adjourns so that journalists do not need to wait another decade or more for the protections they need to do their jobs effectively. By reaffirming your longtime commitment to First Amendment freedoms, you will be sending a powerful message to journalists and all Americans who rely on a free and vibrant press to participate in democracy.
The letter is signed by: Advocacy for Principled Action in Government,
American Civil Liberties Union, Arizona Press Club, ARTICLE 19, CalMatters,
Center for Democracy & Technology, Center for Media at Risk,
Coalition for Women in Journalism, Committee to Protect Journalists,
Defending Rights and Dissent, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eye on Ohio, the Ohio Center for Journalism, Fight for the Future, First Amendment Coalition, Freedom of the Press Foundation,
Good Morning Wilton, Government Information Watch, Illinois Eagle,
Institute for Nonprofit News, J. The Jewish News of Northern California,
Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, LION Publishers,
Ms. Magazine, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Online News Association, New York News Publishers Association, PEN America, Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability,
Protect The 1st, Public News Service, PublicSource, Radio Television Digital News Association, Reporters Without Borders, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, The NewsGuild-CWA, and Tucson Sentinel.
