Tag: First Amendment

Leaked Draft of Executive Order to “Censor the Internet” Sets Off Alarm Bells By Jon Queally

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11 August 2019 — Truthout – Common Dreams

Civil liberties groups are warning that the order poses a major threat to online freedoms and First Amendment rights.

Civil liberties groups are warning of a major threat to online freedoms and First Amendment rights if a leaked draft of a Trump administration edict—dubbed by critics as a “Censor the Internet” executive order that would give powerful federal agencies far-reaching powers to pick and choose which kind of Internet material is and is not acceptable—is allowed to go into effect.

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Why is the US government using social media to monitor the public? By Kevin Reed

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24 June 2019 — WSWS

A series of recent reports—based on documents obtained from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filings and other leaked information—have revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is violating the First Amendment right to free speech and assembly by gathering social media data for surveillance purposes and targeting organizations and individuals for harassment, intimidation, deportation and arrest.

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US Justice Department protocols include sweeping attacks on press freedom By Eric London

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4 March 2014 — WSWS

In an order published by Attorney General Eric Holder on February 27, the Obama administration granted itself unprecedented powers to spy on and prosecute journalists. The new policy announcement directly violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom speech, or of the press…”

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A Conspiracy To Commit Journalism: The Justice Dept’s Dangerous New Argument Threatens Basic Reporting

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Article published on May 20, 2013 by Freedom of the Press Foundation – Trevor Timm:

“Last night, the Washington Post reported on a little known leak case involving former State Department official Stephen Kim. In an alarming new extreme, the Justice Department and FBI argue there’s “probable cause to believe” Fox News reporter James Rosen “has committed or is committing a violation of [the Espionage Act], as an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” by soliciting information from Kim for a story.

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Information Clearing House Newsletter 29 February 2012: Goodbye, First Amendment: ‘Trespass Bill’ Will Make Protest Illegal

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29 February 2012 — Information Clearing House

 

Manipulating Public Perceptions

U.S. Military Has “Detailed Plans” On Syria Options

By AP

Detailed plans developed to carry out military action against Syria have been drawn up by the Pentagon and could be implemented upon orders by President Barack Obama.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30673.htm

 

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1st Amendment Victory in Goodman v. St. Paul, MN Police

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5 October 2011 — Center for Constitutional Rights

Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) with co-counsel Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York and Albert Goins in Minneapolis, celebrated a landmark settlement in Goodman v. St. Paul, a federal lawsuit brought by Democracy Now! journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Nicole Salazar against the Minneapolis-St. Paul police departments and the U.S. Secret Service, arising from law enforcement’s unlawful arrest and use of excessive of force during the journalists’ coverage of protests and demonstrations around the 2008 Republic National Convention (RNC). Learn more about the case here.

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Press Release: News Corp’s Hack Shows a Double Standard

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12 July 2011 — FAIR

Palin Hack Had O’Reilly Calling for Criminal Prosecution

The explosive allegations about widespread illegal voicemail hacking by British tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch are getting very little coverage on Murdoch’s Fox News Channel (TVNewser, 7/12/11). But Fox’s top host took a very different view when a Republican politician’s email account was hacked, calling for the prosecution of the website that published the emails.

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Department of Justice Threatens the Internet By Tom Burghardt

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13 November, 2009 — Global Research – Antifascist Calling – 2009-11-12

When the Independent Media Center (IMC) received a formal notice on January 30 from the Department of Justice, demanding they provide an Indianapolis grand jury with ‘details of all reader visits on a certain day,’ the feisty left-wing news aggregators fought back, CBS News reported.

Investigative journalist Declan McCullagh revealed that the ‘change’ administration’s legal eagles issued an order that required the ‘Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site ‘not to disclose the existence of this request’ unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization.’

Kristina Clair, IndyMedia’s Linux administrator, told CBS she was shocked to have received the subpoena with its flawed demand not to disclose its contents.

The subpoena from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis demanded ‘all IP traffic to and from http://www.indymedia.us’ on June 25, 2008. It instructed Clair to ‘include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information,’ including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers’ Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on. (Declan McCullagh, ‘Justice Dept. Asked for News Site’s Visitor Lists,’ CBS News, November 10, 2009)

Talk about intrusive! While grand jury subpoenas of news organizations and journalists are not unprecedented, under long-standing guidelines these subpoenas are supposed to receive special handling given their sensitive nature, thus ensuring that even the appearance of prior restraint of a journalist’s ability to report the news is avoided.

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