FPF recaps 10 years of milestones in annual impact report

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Dear friend of press freedom,

Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here ([link removed]) .
ADAM SCHULTZ, THE WHITE HOUSE, FLICKR. Accusations that Presidents Biden and Trump violated the Espionage Act should call attention to its overbreadth and susceptibility to abuse.

Our executive director, Trevor Timm, wrote a column for the Guardian ([link removed]) about the frequently abused Espionage Act -– which experts have now accused both of the last two presidents of violating — as well America’s overclassification problem.

Partisan commentators may like to fantasize about presidents they don’t like being charged with “espionage” but in reality the law is used not to prosecute the powerful but to protect them by criminalizing newsgathering and whistleblowing ([link removed]) .

Trevor notes that the Espionage Act is so broad that readers of the Guardian (and other newspapers) may violate it every time they read reporting on classified or “national defense” documents. Overclassification further expands prosecutors’ power under the Espionage Act: “the government has every incentive to claim any information is of the utmost sensitivity because they know anyone they prosecute cannot challenge their classification decisions.”


** FPF marks 10th anniversary with annual impact report
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It’s been a decade since the launch of FPF and the organization continues to evolve and grow in exciting ways. FPF grant writer Bevyn Howard wrote about several highlights of the annual Impact Report for 2022 on our blog ([link removed]) .

The report discusses the various initiatives of FPF, including its efforts to empower journalists to report on anonymous whistleblower submissions using SecureDrop ([link removed]) , document press freedom violations through the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker ([link removed]) , and provide digital security training ([link removed]) for journalists worldwide.


** Congress gifts judges unprecedented censorship powers
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A law quietly passed by Congress in the year-end National Defense Authorization Act empowers federal judges to demand censorship of potentially newsworthy information about themselves and their relatives online.

Judges can now hide, for example, where their spouses work. The obvious conflicts of interest that Ginni Thomas’ political activism create for her husband, Justice Clarence Thomas, should have provided legislators ample reason to vote down the legislation. Who knows how many similar conflicts exist among lower-profile district court judges that journalists might now never discover.
The Constitutional problems with the legislation are too numerous to list and it’s shameful that the same judges and legislators we entrust to safeguard the First Amendment would so readily ignore it to protect their own. Read more on our blog ([link removed]) .


** U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents damage to journalists’ equipment
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FPF’s U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented eight instances ([link removed]) of damage to journalists’ news equipment in the course of their work in 2022.

The good news is that that’s the lowest number since the Tracker launched in 2017. The bad news is that, like last year’s lower arrest numbers ([link removed]) compared to the preceding two years, the drop-off is likely due to fewer national protests, not any long-term policy changes.

The Tracker’s report discusses the costs of replacing broken and damaged equipment to journalists individually and to journalism as a whole, especially in light of budget cuts for photojournalism at many newspapers.
— Seth Stern, Director of Advocacy


** What we’re reading
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Phoenix mayor apologizes to reporter who was detained by Phoenix police ([link removed]) . The mayor of Phoenix was right to apologize to Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin after police handcuffed and detained ([link removed]) him for alleged trespassing when conducting interviews outside a bank. Hopefully the officers will be held accountable. But not all cities apologize to the reporters they harass. Two Asheville, North Carolina reporters ([link removed]) are still scheduled for trial on Jan. 25 for documenting a homeless encampment sweep at a public park. Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams ([link removed]) should drop the charges and issue his own apology.

Appeals court to decide if First Amendment should have protected Laredo’s “big crazy lady” from arrest ([link removed]) . An appellate court will decide if officials can claim immunity in a suit by a Texas citizen journalist who was arrested for asking public officials questions under a state law that criminalizes soliciting or receiving non-public information from a public official. It’s hard to imagine more obviously unconstitutional charges and it’s absurd that the prospect of immunity would even be up for discussion.

Texas Senate to ban reporters from chamber floor ([link removed]) . As we told FPF’s U.S. Press Freedom Tracker ([link removed]) , “the Texas Senate is not even claiming any legitimate justification to limit press access. Officials hope that press restrictions will fly under the radar when they quietly make temporary COVID policies permanent. Hopefully Texans won’t fall for it.”
Gov. Lee's office has cited a controversial exemption dozens of times to keep records secret ([link removed]) . Tennessee's “deliberative process” exception is just one example of overbroad carve-outs from open records laws that practically beg to be abused. As we recently discussed on our blog ([link removed]) , any exemptions to open records laws should be drafted narrowly and officials who claim them in bad faith should face real consequences.
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