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WIRED: Senate Democrats Are Running Out of Time to Pass a Shield Law to Protect Journalism
WIRED - (archived: https://archive.ph/1DwNL ) Senate Democrats Are Running Out of Time to Pass a Shield Law to Protect Journalism
The PRESS Act, which would protect journalists from government spying, enjoys broad bipartisan support and has passed the House—but it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up.
Dell Cameron
Politics
Nov 14, 2024 1:32 PM
Legislation that would bar the United States government from spying on journalists—except under rare, specific circumstances—is currently stalled in Congress, despite having passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support nearly one year ago. Now, with only weeks left to legislate, press advocates are urging Senate Democrats to pass the bill, known as the PRESS Act, before the end of the lame-duck session.
The bill, also known as the “Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act,” would broadly prevent federal agencies from using subpoenas and warrants to target journalists and their sources. The protections would cover any information “obtained or created” while “engaging in journalism,” and would extend to phone and email records possessed by third-party services, such as Google and Meta.
While the PRESS Act famously enjoys strong bipartisan support, the current conditions in the Senate, where the bill now lingers, are less than ideal. Democrats, poised to lose the majority on January 3, are scrambling to accomplish what little they can before ceding control. It remains unclear whether the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who is said to be prioritizing judicial vacancies in the coming weeks, is going to fight to get the PRESS Act a vote before his window expires.
“If there's anything that has a good chance to pass, it should be this,” says Trevor Timm, cofounder and executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation. “It has so much bipartisan support and barely any opposition. But the only chance it has is to pass in during the lame-duck session.”
Notably, the bill has the backing of both senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, respectively. This is a major requirement for the bill to advance. In a statement to WIRED, Durbin said he would continue to work with colleagues to pass the PRESS Act, calling its protections “necessary” and “fundamental to holding politicians and others in power accountable.”
Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.
/snip
The PRESS Act, which would protect journalists from government spying, enjoys broad bipartisan support and has passed the House—but it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up.
Dell Cameron
Politics
Nov 14, 2024 1:32 PM
Legislation that would bar the United States government from spying on journalists—except under rare, specific circumstances—is currently stalled in Congress, despite having passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support nearly one year ago. Now, with only weeks left to legislate, press advocates are urging Senate Democrats to pass the bill, known as the PRESS Act, before the end of the lame-duck session.
The bill, also known as the “Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act,” would broadly prevent federal agencies from using subpoenas and warrants to target journalists and their sources. The protections would cover any information “obtained or created” while “engaging in journalism,” and would extend to phone and email records possessed by third-party services, such as Google and Meta.
While the PRESS Act famously enjoys strong bipartisan support, the current conditions in the Senate, where the bill now lingers, are less than ideal. Democrats, poised to lose the majority on January 3, are scrambling to accomplish what little they can before ceding control. It remains unclear whether the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who is said to be prioritizing judicial vacancies in the coming weeks, is going to fight to get the PRESS Act a vote before his window expires.
“If there's anything that has a good chance to pass, it should be this,” says Trevor Timm, cofounder and executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation. “It has so much bipartisan support and barely any opposition. But the only chance it has is to pass in during the lame-duck session.”
Notably, the bill has the backing of both senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, respectively. This is a major requirement for the bill to advance. In a statement to WIRED, Durbin said he would continue to work with colleagues to pass the PRESS Act, calling its protections “necessary” and “fundamental to holding politicians and others in power accountable.”
Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.
/snip