The argument in support of expanding the United States’ proposed federal shield law has been made so often, and with such clarity, that it is not worth again recounting.  The proposed federal shield law, or Free Flow of Information Act of 2009, seeks to protect journalists from revealing the identity of their confidential sources.  In late September, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) amended the Senate’s version of the bill (S448) to exclude any protection for individuals who do not receive a paycheck for their reporting.

Beneath this legislative change looms a worrisome, and I think probable, consequence:¬† If citizen journalists and bloggers are not encompassed within the current shield law, I sincerely doubt they ever obtain legal protection to keep confidential sources.¬†¬† In today‚Äôs on-line world, volunteer reporters, citizen journalists, and bloggers are sketching the first draft of history, one town at a time.¬† Electronic journalists are covering stories that newspapers have left for greener pastures,¬† and accordingly, have a need to keep anonymous sources. Read the rest of this entry…

A twitter leak and heated blog posts killed legal attempt to keep UK’s Guardian news organisation from reporting on questions asked by MP Paul Farrelly in Parliamentary proceedings regarding allegations of illegal waste dumping by the oil company¬† Trafigura (Netherlands-registered) in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan. the Guardian was bound by an injunction to not report on the questions, but did include in the article that it was kept from doing so by a legal ruling. Bloggers and twitterers had a different take on the injunction, rightfully determining that it meant more people should really be putting that information out there. Read the rest of this entry…

Legit Gov reports about a recent blog post by FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod regarding a draft Senate bill on national cyber-security n the U.S.:¬† “The President would be able to declare a Cybersecurity emergency and then direct the response to that threat. 06 Oct 2009. Aides to Senator Jay Rockefeller reportedly have been working recently on a revised draft Senate bill that would give the President broad powers in the event of a Cybersecurity emergency, and that apparently would go so far as allowing the President to temporarily seize control over computer networks in the private sector.

This power is akin to the power Bush exerted when he grounded commercial aircraft in the wake of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, according to a reported Senate source.”