[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 369 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 369

 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

                           February 14, 2005

   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 
2005''.

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.
                                 <all>