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Dear Friend of Press Freedom, 

As March roars in like a lion, we’re here to help you navigate the threats stalking journalists and the press. Here’s the latest.

Hands off Texas’ anti-SLAPP law

The Texas Citizens Participation Act strongly protects journalists and others in Texas who face meritless lawsuits based on speech, known as SLAPPs. But new bills in the statehouse could change that.  

To understand how these proposals would harm Texans’ First Amendment rights if passed, we spoke to Carol Hemphill, who was SLAPPed in Texas for posting a negative online review, and the lawyer who represented her, JT Morris. 

“The public needs to be assured that they are free to speak out about potentially harmful situations without fear of serious financial repercussions,” Hemphill told us. Read our full Q&A here.

Sunsetting Section 230 would stifle free speech

With the largest social media operators in the U.S. either directly intertwined with President Donald Trump’s administration or kissing the presidential ring, you’d think Trump’s opposition would support alternative platforms. Democrats wouldn’t make it so expensive to run a social media platform that only those loyal to Trump can stay in business. Right?

Wrong. As Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Advocacy Director Seth Stern explains in the Chicago Sun-Times, a proposal by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act would do just that. Repealing Section 230, Stern writes, “will only empower the worst offenders and bankrupt their competition.” Read the full op-ed here.

‘Fox & Friends’ no friend to press freedom

Lawrence Jones and his co-hosts at “Fox & Friends” recently suggested that police “go after” Pablo Manríquez, the editor of Migrant Insider, a Washington, D.C.-based newsletter that covers migrant policy and politics. 

Manríquez’s alleged crime? Receiving a tip from a source and breaking the news about planned raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in northern Virginia.

We wrote about how the First Amendment protects reporting about ICE by Manríquez and other journalists — and why “Fox & Friends” may come to regret supporting prosecutions of journalists. Read the whole thing here.

Make surveillance information public

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has pledged to “uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools” like Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 

She can start by ensuring that Congress and the American people have information they need to assess the impact of Section 702. That’s why FPF joined a coalition letter led by the American Civil Liberties Union asking Gabbard to publish an estimate of the number of U.S. persons whose communications are collected under Section 702 surveillance and to declassify information about the terrifying spy draft amendment to Section 702 made in the last Congress. Read the full letter here.

What we’re reading

Prosecutors drop case against Stanford student journalist (Columbia Journalism Review). We’re glad charges were dropped following the unjust arrest of this student journalist, but it should have been blindingly obvious from the beginning that he did nothing more than report the news.

Why it matters who asks the questions (The Atlantic). Imagine a world where only sycophants can question the president, and any journalists who dare to ask hard questions get kicked out of the room. That’s the path America is on. 

‘A clear attempt to intimidate the press’ (WBUR-FM). Once again, legendary First Amendment lawyer James Goodale says it best: “If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. . . . [I]f you're gonna be in the First Amendment business, you gotta stand up and fight.”

Shell-shocked at CBS (Status). News outlets can't effectively expose corruption when they’re part of it. How can the public trust CBS journalists to cover the same administration that their bosses are bribing?

No entry (Columbia Journalism Review). The pre-ceasefire excuse for barring foreign journalists was that they’d somehow interfere with military operations (as opposed to Palestinian journalists who the IDF seemingly feels free to kill at will). So what’s the excuse now?

Voice of America journalists face investigations for Trump comments (The New York Times). Investigating journalists for accurately reporting comments critical of the Dear Leader is something we used to expect from North Korea, Iran, and Russia — not the United States.

Secret arrests, hidden jail rosters, shrouded records: Immigration court lacks the transparency of other courts, experts say (Cleveland.com). If it sounds un-American, that's because it is.

Requester’s Voice: The Invisible Institute’s Jamie Kalven (MuckRock). “Transparency shouldn’t be just a reluctant concession to the public. It should be a principle of governance.”

Come see us in Chicago

Join FPF and other great organizations in Chicago on March 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Central Standard Time for an important forum on safeguarding journalism and supporting Chicago area journalists in protecting the integrity of their work. RSVP through an attending organization to register. 

How to share sensitive leaks with the press

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