Legal Info

Group Legal documents

Precedent for Arresting Reporters?

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Article in The Guardian by Paul Karp, 11/126/24

Headline:  “US lawmakers urge Biden to pardon Assange to send ‘clear message’ on media freedom”

Subhea:  “Exclusive: James McGovern and Thomas Massie warn US president they are ‘deeply concerned’ the WikiLeaks founder’s plea deal sets worrying precedent”

“President Joe Biden has been urged to pardon Julian Assange by two US congressmen who warn they are ‘deeply concerned’ the WikiLeaks founder’s guilty plea deal sets a precedent for prosecuting journalists and whistleblowers with espionage offences.”

“. . . ‘ “Put simply, there is a long-standing and well-grounded concern that section 793 [of the Espionage Act], which criminalizes the obtaining, retaining, or disclosing of sensitive information, could be used against journalists and news organizations engaged in their normal activities, particularly those who cover national security topics.’ ”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/27/joe-biden-urged-to-pardon-julian-assange-congressmen-letter

Media Group in India Sues OpenAI

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Posted in Slashdot by msmash on Tuesday 1/19/024

Headline:  “Indian News Agency Sues OpenAI Alleging Copyright Infringement (techcrunch.com)”

“One of India’s largest news agencies, Asian News International, has sued OpenAI in a case that could set a precedent for how AI companies use copyrighted news content in the world’s most populous nation.

“From a report: Asian News International filed a 287-page lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Monday, alleging the AI company illegally used its content to train its AI models and generated false information attributed to the news agency. The case marks the first time an Indian media organization has taken legal action against OpenAI over copyright claims.”

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/11/19/1718229/indian-news-agency-sues-openai-alleging-copyright-infringement

War on the Media?

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Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley, 11/15/24

Headline:  ” ‘Potentially Ominous Trend’ for Press Freedom as Trump Wages Legal War on News Outlets”

Subhead:  ” ‘Governments and powerful figures threatening journalists and media outlets with costly legal battles and bankruptcy is a common tactic against press freedom in repressive countries,’ said one journalist.”

” ‘The press freedom fire is at our door step now,’ said one Washington Post journalist on Thursday night after news broke that two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, he has already begun to wage legal warfare against on the news media.

“The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR)reported that days before the election, a lawyer for Trump, Edward Andrew Paltzik, sent a letter to The New York Times and Penguin Random House demanding $10 billion in damages for publishing articles and a book that were critical of the president-elect, who was convicted of 34 felony counts earlier this year”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/new-york-times-trump-unfit

Don’t Like Media – Sue ‘Em

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Article from The Guardian by Maya Yang, 11/15/24

Headline:  “Trump sues for billions from media he says is biased against him”

Subhead:  “President-elect intensifies longstanding media hostility by filing lawsuits against New York Times, CBS and others”

“With only two months left until Donald Trump returns to the White House, the president-elect and convicted felon has been waging lawfare by a flurry of lawsuits against media companies and publishers that have been critical of him.

“The lawsuits come amid growing fears of what a second Trump term would mean for press freedom as Trump intensifies his longstanding hostility against the media – which he called ‘the enemy camp’ in his victory speech last week.”

“. . .In response to Trump’s re-election victory and his repeated attacks against journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called Trump’s threats against the press a ‘clear and direct danger to media freedom.’

“ ‘The hostile media climate fostered during Donald Trump’s first presidency – expected to continue in his forthcoming second term – poses great risks to media inside and outside the country,’ ” CPJ added.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/trump-sues-media-outlets-bias

Reporter Behind Bars

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Article from Committee to Protect Journalists, 11/11/24

Headline:  “Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay arrested over reporting on opposition arrest”

“The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to immediately free reporter Furkan Karabay, who was seized from his home at dawn on Friday after he published a report about the arrest of an opposition mayor.

” ‘Journalist Furkan Karabay is the latest in a long line of journalists who have ended up behind bars in Turkey simply for publishing critical reporting and commentary,’ said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Karabay must not waste months of his life in prison, waiting to be indicted and tried. Turkey’s constant oppression of the free press is an obstacle to citizens’ rights to access information”.

https://cpj.org/2024/11/turkish-journalist-furkan-karabay-arrested-over-reporting-on-opposition-arre

Can Missouri Decide What’s on Internet Media?

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Article in Ars Technica by Jon Brodkin 10/25/24

Headline:  “Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he is investigating Google, claiming that the tech giant censors conservative speech and manipulated search results about Donald Trump.”

“BREAKING: ‘I am launching an investigation into Google—the biggest search engine in America—for censoring conservative speech during the most consequential election in our nation’s history. Google is waging war on the democratic process. It’s time to fight back,’ Bailey wrote on X, the social network owned by notable Trump supporter Elon Musk.”

“. . . Many Republican government officials want more authority to regulate how social media firms moderate user-submitted content. Republican officials from 20 states, including 19 state attorneys general, argued in a January 2024 Supreme Court brief that they ‘have authority to prohibit mass communication platforms from censoring speech.’ ”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/missouri-ag-claims-google-censors-trump-demands-info-on-search-algorithm/

Sputnik Radio – We’re Not In Kansas City Anymore!

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 10/22/24

Headline:  “US Sanctions Shoot Down Sputnik Radio”

“Russian state radio network Radio Sputnik is off the air in the two markets on which it aired in the United States, and the cause of the closure is reportedly US government sanctions.

“The Desk (10/15/24), quoting “one source familiar with the decision to wind down the network,” said “it was directly influenced by the US State Department’s imposition of new sanctions on Russia-backed broadcast outlets last month.”

“While Sputnik was not specifically named by the State Department,” the Desk reported, the sanctions did hit Sputnik‘s parent company, a Russian government media agency called Rossiya Segodnya. This “made it difficult to continue leasing time on Washington and Kansas City radio stations where its programming was heard.”

“. . . US government broadcaster Voice of America (10/16/24) said Sputnik‘s departure comes “after years of criticism that its local [Washington] radio station, WZHF, carries antisemitic content and false information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

https://fair.org/home/us-sanctions-shoot-down-sputnik-radio/

How to get Votes or Favorable Media – Pay for Them!

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 10/23/24

Headline: “Nicole Shanahan offered $500K to Washington Post reporter to share sources, be a ‘whistleblower’ “

“Nicole Shanahan, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, offered half a million dollars to a Washington Post journalist to be a “whistleblower” against her political enemies.

“The Post, in a wide-ranging profile of Shanahan published Wednesday, revealed the offer was made this summer, when the outlet was reporting on her during the time Kennedy’s campaign was still active.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4948979-nicole-shanahan-offered-money-washington-post-whistleblower/

Censoring Media is OK by Some Politicians

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Article in Raw Story by Erik De La Garza 10/18/24

. . . so – Reagan threw out the Fairness Doctrine but actually still exists for TV ads?

Headline:  “Trump’s latest ask of Fox News is ‘arguably against the law’: media analyst”

“Donald Trump’s idea of demanding Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch stop the network from airing ‘negative commercials’ about him for the remainder of the election could be against the law, a CNN media analyst said Friday, adding that the former president’s comments show he is clearly bothered by the attack ads.

“Here’s the interesting thing: Trump asking Fox to ban anti-Trump ads is arguably against the law,” CNN media analyst Brian Stelter told anchor Wolf Blitzer on Friday night. “Fox operates local TV stations across the country that are subject to FCC oversight. The FCC has rules in place that require stations to be fair about airing political ads.”

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2669441295/

It’s the Media, Stupid!

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Update

Article in the Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/18/24

Headline: “Judge slaps down Florida effort to ban abortion ad: ‘It’s the first amendment, stupid’”

Subhead: “State health department sent letter to stations demanding they not air TV ad backing abortion access ballot measure”

“Florida’s health department can’t block a TV advertisement in support of a ballot measure that would protect abortion rights, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, after the department sent letters to local TV stations commanding them to stop airing the ad or risk criminal consequences.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false’,” US district judge Mark E Walker wrote in his ruling. “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/18/florida-abortion-ad

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Article in The Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/9/24

Headline: “Florida threatens news stations over ad in favor of abortion rights measure”

Subhead:  “FCC chair condemns state health department for sending cease-and-desists over spot supporting abortion rights”

“The Florida health department has fired off cease-and-desist letters to local news stations over an advertisement urging people to vote in favor of a ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in the state.

” . . . On Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, condemned the cease-and-desist letters.

“ ‘The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the first amendment,’ Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/09/florida-news-abortion-ballot-coverage