On October 26, the Alliance joined a brief, filed in the Ninth Circuit, arguing that California’s anti-SLAPP law should be applied in whole, including the attorneys fees provision. In CoreCivic v. Candide Group, the defendant successfully filed an anti-SLAPP motion, and the district court awarded them attorneys fees. The plaintiff appealed that decision, saying the anti-slapp law is inapplicable.
On November 11, the Alliance signed onto a brief, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that law enforcement should not be permitted to conduct warrantless, long-term camera surveillance. In Tuggle v. United States, law enforcement officers used three cameras attached to utility poles to film Tuggle for over a year, in an attempt to gather evidence of drug trafficking—all without a warrant.
On November 22, the Alliance signed onto a brief, filed in the Supreme Court of New York, Westchester County, arguing that the court should not issue any prior restraints on a news publisher. In Project Veritas v. New York Times, the Times published a story that included excerpts of memoranda prepared by a Project Veritas attorney.
On October 9, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB-98 “Public peace: media access” into law.
On September 24, The Alliance joined the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press in an amicus brief seeking records from the Seattle Police Department.
As the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan, citizens have faced increasing danger amid the chaos. Journalists have been particularly at risk.
On August 20, Russia labeled two more news agencies as “foreign agents.” This requires them to label all stories and social media posts as foreign agent and subjects them to increased audits.
On August 17, the Taliban hosted a press conference addressing citizens’ concerns.
On August 14, Nicaraguan officials arrested the manager of La Presna—a newspaper that was critical of the Nicaraguan government, calling the president a “dictator” among other criticisms.
Recent events continue to demonstrate that journalism and journalists are a necessary part of our democracy and critical to a well-functioning government and an informed electorate. There are many challenges for news media and journalists in today’s landscape. As members of the 117th Congress consider solutions to these challenges, the News Media for Open Government (NMOG) coalition calls on Congress to promote policies that bolster the First Amendment, the value of journalists, a free press, and a more transparent and open government.
