WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Senate should pass the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act before the end of its term and the President should sign it into law. This bill has garnered overwhelming bipartisan support – passing the House of Representatives with unanimous support earlier in the 118th Congress’s term.
Protecting journalists from government surveillance that would otherwise suppress free speech and endanger a journalist’s sources is fundamentally in keeping with the First Amendment. Foley Foundation President and Founder Diane Foley said, “To stay safe, our brave journalists must have the ability to source information that gives readers context, exposes wrongdoing, or sheds light on abuses of power if the First Amendment is to retain meaning.”
The bill’s provisions would prevent federal administrative or law enforcement agencies from using subpoenas and warrants to target journalists and their sources. Information “obtained or created” while “engaging in journalism,” would be protected. Reasonable exemptions contained in the bill would enable the government to seek access to a journalist’s work to prevent an “act of terrorism” or “the threat of imminent violence, significant bodily harm, or death, including specified offenses against a minor.” These carveouts are in keeping with judicial precedent.
A journalist is defined by the bill as “a person who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public,” meaning it applies anyone who practices journalism across a variety of formats and/or points of view.
