donal brown

Bill to protect journalist’s sources stymied in Congress

A bill to prevent the government from forcing journalists to disclose information including the identity of their sources was blocked by Republican senator Tom Cotton. (Mediaite, December 14, 2022, by Michael Luciano) Long time defender of journalists and whistleblowers Republican senator Chuck Grassley voiced his skepticism about the bill’s chance to pass this year and refused to say if Cotton had influenced him to block the bill. (Intercept, December 19, 2022, by Daniel Boguslaw) For

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Federal agencies not telling public how they process FOIA requests

Most federal agencies including Customs and Borders are not releasing their procedures for processing Freedom of Information Act requests. With these agencies delaying or stonewalling requests from journalists and the public, it is essential to learn how they handle requests. (Electric Frontier Foundation, December 16, 2022, by Beryl Lipton) For related FAC coverage, click here, here and here.

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Journalists need to step up on phony claims of censorship

Jonas Kaiser in NiemanLab, December 15, 2022, makes the point that conservatives have weaponized free speech in attacking speech they don’t like. They falsely portray themselves as the defenders of free speech and the opposition to censorship. “Journalists must understand that ‘freedom of speech’ has been a topic on the right for years, writes Kaiser, “and that claims of censorship have been voiced consistently on- and offline. Journalists need to reject this ‘free speech’ framing

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Musk continues to fumble Twitter acquisition

Elon Musk’s declarations about his defense of free speech on Twitter ring hollow as he suspended the accounts of several journalists. The journalists were among those covering Musk in his recent moves as head of Twitter. (Newsweek, August 16, 2022,by Aila Slisco) Steven Vladeck of MSNBC, December 11, 2022, says the problem is that Musk may not have any idea of what it means to uphold free speech on Twitter or he does and is

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Supreme Court to hear immigration free speech case

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case of a California man who claims he has a First Amendment right to make money off false promises of a path to citizenship for immigrants. The Ninth Circuit appeals court ruled that the federal laws were overbroad and violated the man’s free speech rights. The federal government is arguing that Congress’ power to enforce immigration laws must be supported by power to prohibit encouraging someone to violate

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