PRESS Act Needed Now to Preserve First Amendment Freedoms
Federal bill will also stop surveillance of journalists
The Media and Democracy Project has joined more than 85 civil liberties, press freedom, and journalism organizations in expressing strong support for enacting the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (PRESS Act, S.2074) in a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also signed by 33 lawyers and law professors.
The PRESS Act is a bipartisan bill that would protect journalist-source confidentiality. The Act would also protect journalists against government surveillance through phone and email providers. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) has called it the “strongest shield bill we’ve ever seen” and “the most important press freedom bill in modern times”
We applaud Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), leaders of the Judiciary Committee, for co-sponsoring the bill and encourage them to move it forward quickly. The House passed the bill, without opposition, in January. This is our best chance to get it passed after a long effort.
We encourage all citizens to contact Sen. Durbin, Sen. Graham, and their own senators expressing support for protecting the independence of journalists and the importance of shielding them from government surveillance.
See our earlier post or FPF’s FAQ for more information about the PRESS Act.
The full text of the letter to Sen. Durbin and Sen. Graham is here (updated June 4).
Finally, please take action. The ACLU has an easy form to send letters on the PRESS Act to your Senators, here, or contact them directly.
UPDATE: This post was written in May 2024 when the Media and Democracy Project signed onto the letter. Unfortunately, the Senate has done nothing in the last six months. Time is rapidly running out. At that time, there was agreement that it was needed whether we had a Biden (as was possible then), Harris or Trump administration. After Trump’s election, he called for the bill to be “killed” which has given it a partisan valence it did not, and should not have. Nonetheless, we believe it is important that there be a vote on it (or, an attempt to break a filibuster if one occurs). This broadcast is an excellent reivew of the bill and update as to where it stands
Jonathan Reiss is a co-founder of the Media and Democracy Project, a nonprofit grassroots membership organization fighting for a more informative and pro-democracy media that works in the public interest. He is a Friend of ANNO.
