Wikileaks Decides: If The US Gov't Won't Create A Real Shield Law, We'll Shield Journalists Instead

from the technology-to-the-rescue dept

With the US federal gov't continually watering down and limiting any attempt at a federal shield law to help protect journalists from being pressured into revealing their sources, it looks like the site Wikileaks wants to help. It's trying to set up a system, whereby a source can leak information directly to a journalist for a period of time, before Wikileaks goes public with the info. But, either way, Wikileaks promises to protect the source, keeping the journalist separate from the source. While I have no idea if this particular program will actually work, it does show the futility of politicians trying to water down such a shield law. It seems like every time politicians try to do these sorts of things, the internet comes to the rescue with its own solutions.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: journalism, shield law, wikileaks


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 6:22am

    First!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    David T, 13 Oct 2009 @ 6:42am

    [Sarcasm]

    Clearly this is a subversion of democracy and a clear and present threat. I hope Wikileaks likes it on the Terrorist Watch List...

    [/Sarcasm]

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    fogbugzd (profile), 13 Oct 2009 @ 7:38am

    Defending democracy

    This strikes me as a significant act of Jeffersonian principles. It amounts to individuals taking responsibility for protecting freedom when the government fails to do so. I wish them the best of luck and a good defense team.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    NullOp, 13 Oct 2009 @ 7:56am

    Gov'ment

    Sad it is the protection we need the most is protection from our government!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jon B., 13 Oct 2009 @ 10:27am

      Re: Gov'ment

      That's not sad or new. The US was built on the principle that the protection we need most is protection from government. The sad part is that lately as a people we've moved away from that thought.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    James (profile), 13 Oct 2009 @ 8:09am

    Internet comes to the rescue? Not for long. People think it is great that the US is "giving up" control over the internet. What our governement is "giving up" is having to deal with US law over issues like spying on email and other stuff. better to give it up to the UN who will then allow the governements of the world to do whatver they like in the name of "law inforcement". Just like this pesky "bill of rights". better to give and international police for jurisdiction in all countries of the world. Sorry chaps, feel like your rights were violated? the constutution of the US only protects you from the US government. Not the UN and not INTERPOL.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Davis Freeberg, 13 Oct 2009 @ 8:52am

    Straw Man

    The issue isn't about stripping journalists of their rights or discouraging members of the public from sharing evidence of a crime with the press, it's about preventing people from refusing to cooperate in police investigations by claiming that their Twitter account gives them a shield. There will still be plenty of journalists that people can leak to as well, they just won't be able to clam up if they spill the beans on a public forum.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 3:51pm

      Re: Straw Man

      The issue isn't about stripping journalists of their rights or discouraging members of the public from sharing evidence of a crime with the press,...

      Err, in many cases that is exactly what may happen.

      ...it's about preventing people from refusing to cooperate in police investigations....

      And journalists ARE people.

      ...by claiming that their Twitter account gives them a shield.

      I find your claim that it would only apply to Twitter accounts to be deceptive. In fact, the law doesn't even mention Twitter. Talk about straw men. Oh well, I give you credit for at least being honest enough to disclose "Straw Man" in your subject line.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 11:10pm

      Re: Straw Man

      "There will still be plenty of journalists that people can leak to as well"

      Journalists who would either

      A: Censor it

      B: Report it and make it their intellectual property.

      No thanks. The laws should allow me to communicate it directly to the public, anonymously, without making it anyone's intellectual property. PERIOD.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 9:04am

    All Wikileaks is doing is putting itself in the middle. Instead of the journalist getting sued to reveal sources, the folks running wikileaks will end up with the problem.

    I would say that they are being fools.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 3:58pm

      Re:

      I would say that they are being fools.

      Some people are willing to go out on a limb and risk their own personal interests for the sake of doing good in the world. Some people can't understand why anyone would do anything other than what's in their own best interest and call those who would "fools".

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2009 @ 7:21pm

    John 8:32

    You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
    -- John 8:32

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Allan Masri (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 9:39am

    RE RE Straw Man

    Absolutely true, anonymous coward. Furthermore, most governmental leaks occur at the top levels because a company or a government wants to leak information favorable to itself. Since those leakers are high-level guys, they will never be the targets of lawsuits. Genuine whistleblowers need protection from their bosses.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Terrence, 22 Oct 2009 @ 12:14am

    mls search

    Nice comment
    Terrence
    mls search

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.