Legal efforts to protect journalists, whistleblowers, and/or the right to know.
In the U.S., the Espionage Act of 1917 is the leading law used against journalists, whistleblowers, and other truthtellers exposing crimes, corruption, and wrongdoing in the public interest. The United Kingdom’s Official Secrets Act, meanwhile, has been used to prosecute whistleblowers in the UK, but these cases have been rarer, and authorities have at times declined to present evidence when clear public interest considerations are at stake.
Courage supports robust legal protections for journalists, including their right to gather news and to publish it, free from surveillance, censure, and censors; for whistleblowers, as well as other journalistic sources who expose governmental or corporate wrongdoing; and for the public’s right to know about corruption, illegality, waste, fraud, and abuse.
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Senate fails to pass PRESS ActThe Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act would protect journalists against government surveillance and the forced disclosure of their confidential sources
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Trump’s re-election and the war on journalismDonald Trump is poised to return to the White House, and press freedom groups are sounding the alarm about what his election means for the state of journalism. Courage joins these groups in standing up for truthtellers, for journalists’ right to publish, and for your right to know, regardless of which party is in power.
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What needs changing in the EU’s draft whistleblower directiveCourage welcomes a strong set of proposals and recommends changes regarding national security cases, protecting anonymity and letting whistleblowers choose who they talk to
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European Commission unveils draft whistleblower directiveUltimately these proposals have to be judged on whether they will enable future Antoine Deltours to come forward without being put in legal jeopardy
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Britain eyes up its own Espionage ActProposals suggest expanding the scope and penalties of laws criminalising truthtellers
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Whistleblowers need EU protection – lives, environment and money at stakeEU-wide campaign launched at www.whistleblowerprotection.eu – add your signature!
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German government plans source prosecution as Greens push new whistleblower protection lawReports about an impending German source prosecution show the country is pulling in opposite directions on whistleblower protection
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Whistleblower protection case reaches US Supreme CourtA fired air marshal challenges his removal on the grounds that he disclosed sensitive information in the interest of public safety; a Supreme Court ruling could protect whistleblowers across the board (Updated with ruling)
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Yochai Benkler outlines public accountability defence for whistleblowersIn a new paper, Benkler details both the value and inevitability of national security disclosures, and he proposes a whistleblower defence that could have helped protect Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden
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British MPs say “whistleblowing is crucial” but fail to protect intelligence whistleblowersA UK parliamentary committee says whistleblowers are a “crucial source of intelligence to help government identify wrongdoing” but fails to mention one significant category altogether – intelligence whistleblowers
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UK watchdog warns that terrorism laws threaten journalists and sourcesIn his report to the UK Parliament, David Anderson QC writes that the law “has begun to catch people it was never really intended to catch”
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Australia’s new law would criminalise Snowden reportingAustralia introduces a legislative proposal that evokes the US’s Espionage Act, stokes unfounded fears and criminalises journalism in line with a crackdown on whistleblowing
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US ‘Free Flow of Information Act’ targets whistleblowers and independent journalistsThe new FFIA bill delegitimises whistleblowers and independent journalists, in a move towards state-sanctioned journalism.