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The First Amendment protects journalists using Snowden’s documents. But what about Snowden?

[…] doubts about the application of federal statutes, and a tradition of prosecutorial forbearance---all these combine to create huge obstacles to the bringing of criminal charges against journalists for reporting on leaked, classified information. This double-standard---exposing government leakers to punishment while insulating the journalists who publicize their leaks---may seem unfair, arbitrary, even offensive. The double-standard […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
October 22, 2013
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The first amendment is in trouble when EU bureaucrats get to decide what US citizens can read on US-based websites

[…] is--had been directed by government authorities to censor its content. But the impact on free speech could soon get much worse. Google has received over 186,000 requests for deletion of search results and has agreed to approximately 40 percent of those requests, ranging from random website postings that no one cares about to an […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 15, 2014
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The attacks in Paris are a clarifying moment for freedom of speech

BY PETER SCHEER--The terrorist attacks in Paris, for all their horror and barbarity, are a clarifying event. Freedom of speech, we can all see, is the ultimate soft target, as vulnerable as it is precious. The terrorists came first for journalists, selecting the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to rid the world of satire, irreverence […]
- Free Expression
January 22, 2015
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Sunshine Week Event: Inside the Fight for Public Information

Sunshine Week 2021: Join us for a discussion on navigating barriers to public records and fighting for open government Update: Check out the event recap. The coronavirus pandemic has made accessing public information more challenging than ever, with some governments refusing to even respond to requests for public records. Yet news organizations across the […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 2, 2021
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Special Commentary | You Have the Right to Record Law Enforcement Officers — Including at the Border

[…] Mr. Ramirez, forcibly took his cell phone, and deleted his photographs — effectively interfering with Mr. Ramirez’s constitutional right to record. The right to record is critical for holding law enforcement, especially CBP officials, accountable for abuses at the border. Recording and documenting interactions with federal law enforcement officers are especially critical tools for […]
- Free Expression
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 9, 2022
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Snowden, go home

[…] an extension of his political asylum in Russia, where he has resided, beyond the reach of US jurisdiction and under legal protection granted by Vladimir Putin personally, for a little over one year. Snowden seems to be settling in for the long haul as a fugitive expatriate. He is making a big mistake. At […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
July 14, 2014
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Should news outlets, social media & internet services curb public access to ISIS?

BY PETER SCHEER---Any rational person viewing even a portion of an ISIS snuff video has wondered: Do these maniacs really think that they can win popular support for their cause through grisly online depictions of immolations and mass beheadings? Don’t they realize that the vast, vast majority of viewers are sickened by these images […]
- Free Expression
February 24, 2015
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Short Takes: government email, historical police records, fee awards against requesters

BY PETER SCHEER--Despite the dysfunction in Washington, Congress occasionally surprises with a modest piece of legislation that points the way for California and many other states. So it is with a 2014 Federal Records Act amendment which addresses this question: Suppose a federal employee, using his own personal text or email account, sends a […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
January 21, 2015
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Blog Cases

Score one big victory for access to government data

[…] won a big victory. The California Supreme Court sustained FAC's claim that the State Bar—an arm of the judiciary that regulates lawyers—must disclose extensive data on applicants for admission to the Bar (minus their names and other identifying information, as we had urged). Although these data are not covered by California’s open records law, […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 20, 2013
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Responses to Peter Scheer’s Commentary on Vallejo’s Bankruptcy

In response to Peter's recent commentary on Vallejo’s Bankruptcy. For most cities staff compensation is the city’s biggest expenditure. There should be more room for citizen oversight and input. One of the most important aspects in need of close scrutiny are a city’s revenue projections. I would guess when Vallejo negotiated and approved staff […]

June 2, 2009