[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3020 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3020
To establish protections against compelled disclosure of sources, and
news or information, by persons providing services for the news media.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 19, 2004
Mr. Dodd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish protections against compelled disclosure of sources, and
news or information, by persons providing services for the news media.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Free Speech Protection Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered person.--The term ``covered person'' means a
person who--
(A) engages in the gathering of news or
information; and
(B) has the intent, at the beginning of the process
of gathering news or information, to disseminate the
news or information to the public.
(2) News or information.--The term ``news or information''
means written, oral, pictorial, photographic, or electronically
recorded information or communication concerning local,
national, or worldwide events, or other matters.
(3) News media.--The term ``the news media'' means--
(A) a newspaper;
(B) a magazine;
(C) a journal or other periodical;
(D) radio;
(E) television;
(F) any means of disseminating news or information
gathered by press associations, news agencies, or wire
services (including dissemination to the news media
described in subparagraphs (A) through (E)); or
(G) any printed, photographic, mechanical, or
electronic means of disseminating news or information
to the public.
SEC. 3. COMPELLED DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in section 4, no entity of the
judicial, legislative, or executive branch of the Federal Government
with the power to issue a subpoena or provide other compulsory process
shall compel any covered person who is providing or has provided
services for the news media to disclose--
(1) the source of any news or information procured by the
person, or any information that would tend to identify the
source, while providing services for the news media, whether or
not the source has been promised confidentiality; or
(2) any news or information procured by the person, while
providing services for the news media, that is not itself
communicated in the news media, including any--
(A) notes;
(B) outtakes;
(C) photographs or photographic negatives;
(D) video or sound tapes;
(E) film; or
(F) other data, irrespective of its nature, that is
not itself communicated in the news media.
(b) Supervisors, Employers, and Persons Assisting a Covered
Person.--The protection from compelled disclosure described in
subsection (a) shall apply to a supervisor, employer, or any person
assisting a person covered by subsection (a).
(c) Result.--Any news or information obtained in violation of the
provisions of this section shall be inadmissible in any action,
proceeding, or hearing before any entity of the judicial, legislative,
or executive branch of the Federal Government.
SEC. 4. COMPELLED DISCLOSURE PERMITTED.
(a) News or Information.--A court may compel disclosure of news or
information described in section 3(a)(2) and protected from disclosure
under section 3 if the court finds, after providing notice and an
opportunity to be heard to the person or entity from whom the news or
information is sought, that the party seeking the news or information
established by clear and convincing evidence that--
(1) the news or information is critical and necessary to
the resolution of a significant legal issue before an entity of
the judicial, legislative, or executive branch of the Federal
Government that has the power to issue a subpoena;
(2) the news or information could not be obtained by any
alternative means; and
(3) there is an overriding public interest in the
disclosure.
(b) Source.--A court may not compel disclosure of the source of any
news or information described in section 3(a)(1) and protected from
disclosure under section 3.
SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES NOT CONSTITUTING A WAIVER.
The publication by the news media, or the dissemination by a person
while providing services for the news media, of a source of news or
information, or a portion of the news or information, procured in the
course of pursuing professional activities shall not constitute a
waiver of the protection from compelled disclosure that is described in
section 3.
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