The announcement came a day after the New York Times revealed the department had prohibited the newspaper’s lawyers and executives from disclosing an effort to seize email records of four reporters.
Justice Department Says It Will No Longer Seize Reporters Records – Courthouse News Service courthousenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from courthousenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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June 06, 2021 05:05 IST
The reversal follows a pledge last month by President Joe Biden, who said it was “simply, simply wrong” to seize journalists’ records and that he would not permit the Justice Department to continue the practice.
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U.S. Justice Department signaled an official turnabout from an investigative tactic that has persisted for years.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The reversal follows a pledge last month by President Joe Biden, who said it was “simply, simply wrong” to seize journalists’ records and that he would not permit the Justice Department to continue the practice.
The Justice Department said Saturday that it no longer will secretly obtain reporters’ records during leak investigations, a policy shift that abandons a practice decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.
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Journalists may face less risk for commonplace investigative computer reporting techniques thanks to a ruling today from the U.S. Supreme Court.
In its June 3 decision, the Court, in
Van Buren v. United States, narrowly interpreted the criminal provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which punishes certain types of access to websites and computer systems. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the statute’s reach to anyone who “exceeds authorized access” does not apply to people who have permission to access the information, but then use it in an unauthorized fashion.