About Free Speech Week
Free Speech Week is a nonpartisan, non-ideological event designed to raise awareness and celebrate the importance of free speech and a free press in the United States. This year Free Speech Week is October 20-26, 2025.
News/Media Alliance is a Free Speech Week partner, along with a variety of organizations and educational institutions that believe in the value of freedom of speech and a free press. Click here to view a list of Free Speech Week Partners.
Partners offer resources and host activities during Free Speech Week, including webinars, quizzes, contests and more. Click here for ideas on how your organization can participate in Free Speech Week.
For more information about Free Speech Week, visit www.freespeechweek.org
Free Speech/Free Press Content
View all News/Media Alliance posts about free speech.
Free Speech Protection Act
The bipartisan Free Speech Protection Act, introduced on December 5, 2024 allows a federal judge to quickly dismiss SLAPPs that target free speech and to award attorney fees to mitigate the burden on the defendant and deter future SLAPPs. This procedural move helps protect journalists and the public from retaliatory lawsuits intended to intimidate the free exercise of their First Amendment rights. The bill addresses a significant gap in the law, as 34 states and the District of Columbia currently have anti-SLAPP laws, but no such law exists on the federal level.
Related: With State Anti-SLAPP Laws in Chaos, New Uniform Legislation Would Offer Consistent Protection for Publishers of Free Speech (February 28, 2022)
The Journalist Protection Act
On May 5, 2025, World Press Freedom Day, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14) reintroduced the Journalist Protection Act in the House and Senate. The bill would strengthen protections for journalists by making intentionally harming or intimidating a working journalist a federal crime.
Related:
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The State of FOIA 2025 (March 2025)
Representative Adam Schiff Introduces the Judicial FOIA Expansion Act (August 9, 2024)
Alliance Supports Government Transparency Under FOIA (September 1, 2022)
Senate Holds FOIA Hearing (March 31, 2022)
DOJ FOIA Guidelines Call for More Transparency (March 16, 2022)
The State of of FOIA Infographic (updated March 15, 2022)
The PRESS Act
The bi-partisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or “PRESS Act,” (H.R. 4330) would establish reasonable ground rules for when the government can obtain confidential source information from the media and their third-party service providers. The Act was originally introduced in 2021 by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) following reports that the Department of Justice was misusing statutes to obtain information from and about journalists. The safeguards enumerated in the PRESS Act are critical to supporting and maintaining a free and independent press.
The PRESS Act passed the House in 2024, but failed to pass in the Senate, and has yet to be reintroduced this Congress.
Related:
News/Media Alliance and 100+ Media and Press Rights Organizations Call on Congress to Advance the PRESS Act (October 2024)
News/Media Alliance Joins Media Letter in Calling for Senate to Advance the PRESS Act (June 2024)
Statement: News/Media Alliance Applauds Passage of PRESS Act in House (January 2024)
Infographic: The History of Press Freedom in America (See right)
Alliance Opposes Bill Restricting Journalists’ Right of Access (July 11, 2022) – The Alliance joined a letter by the National Press Photographers Association asking Arizona Gov. Douglas Ducey to veto a recently passed Bill that makes it illegal to film a law enforcement officer within eight feet of the officer without permission, explaining that the bill likely “violates not only the free speech and press clauses of the First Amendment,” but also “runs counter to the ‘clearly established right’ to photograph and record police officers performing their official duties in a public place.”
“Why Students Need the Full First Amendment,” Free Speech Week column by News/Media Alliance Fall/Winter 2020 Alliance communications intern, Jennifer Nehrer (2020) – “In order to ensure that student voices are heard, schools should not limit the freedoms of speech that are given to citizens outside of the schoolyard.”
#FreeSpeechWeek Materials
Below are several resources and materials on Free Speech that can be used in your newspaper publications, as well as online and on social media.
Free Speech Week logo and tagline:
Download official Free Speech Week logo and tagline
Social media badge:
Show your support by changing your social media profile image during Free Speech Week.
Download the Free Speech Week social media badge here.
In addition, use the hashtag #freedomspeaks to follow and participate in the conversation about free speech week on Twitter!
Social media graphics
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