People in the US: A government “shield” bill called the PRESS Act has only a few weeks left to be passed by the Senate. It was passed by the House with unanimous, bipartisan support in January, but has been waiting there for a final vote ever since.
Should the PRESS Act become law, it would protect journalists all over the United States from being forced to reveal or hand over their private sources, unless it’s an emergency like stopping a terrorist attack. The bill also protects people in other ways. For example, it limits what information the government can steal from journalists or their email or phone provider that could be used to find their sources, though there are a few exceptions for emergencies.
For the past year, lawmakers have been trying to get the PRESS Act passed so that journalists are protected at the federal level. They have used recent abuses by the U.S. government as an example, like when the Justice Department asked for and got journalists’ phone records from CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. The Verge said last week that protecting reporters and their sources will become more important if Trump wins a second term.
Making reporters reveal the name of a source can really stop them from getting news. People will not want to talk to reporters, which makes it harder for people to get information about things that affect them. Also, more and more of our news comes from independent reporters and smaller news sites, which may not be able to fight a government subpoena for their records. The PRESS Act would protect all journalists in the US in the same way. It would also protect independent journalists and news sources that report information that is in the public interest.
We support protecting and building on press freedoms, even though the bill doesn’t have a direct effect on the tech business. Some of Parhlo World most read and important stories have come from readers like you who have tipped us off to corporate wrongdoing, mismanagement in the startup world, violations of human rights, major breaches and data spills, cyberattacks, and crimes that might not have been reported otherwise. Parhlo World has always listened to the law and acted to protect our sources. Freedom of the press is the only thing that can help us do this.
Two Democrats and one Republican already back the PRESS Act in the Senate. Sens. Ron Wyden, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee, and Dick Durbin are all co-sponsors. The plan is almost done; it just needs to be voted on by the whole Senate. It will be expired at the end of the congressional session in a few weeks.
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The ACLU has a web form you can use to send a message to your senators. You can also call or email them to ask them to support the PRESS Act.
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