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Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
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Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.

News

Format: 2013-05-26
Format: 2013-05-26
Court denies ESPN access to NCAA investigation records under FERPA
June 19, 2012
The Ohio Supreme Court denied ESPN, Inc. access to certain records relating to the NCAA's investigation of Ohio State University football players who allegedly traded sports memorabilia for tattoos. The court's ruling, released today, cited a federal act that withholds funds to public schools that release educational records in denying ESPN's request.
Google report: Government agency requests for content removal and user data rise globally and in U.S.
June 18, 2012
Requests from government agencies in the U.S. to remove Internet content and reveal more information about online users continues to rise, reflecting a similar trend around the world, according to Google's Transparency Report released Sunday. The biannual report found that in the U.S. from July to December 2011, government agencies -- including local, state and federal government offices -- requested the removal of 6,192 items posted online and information from 12,243 Google user accounts.
Journalist may intervene to challenge gag order in terrorism trial
June 15, 2012
A federal appellate court ruled Monday that a Texas journalist had standing to challenge a lower court’s gag order in an alleged terrorist’s criminal trial, but the court still upheld the order barring those involved in the case from communicating with the media.
Oregon Supreme Court recognizes public right to view trial exhibits, but leaves to courts' discretion
June 15, 2012
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America cannot prevent the release of court documents introduced in a child sexual abuse jury trial that resulted in a $19.4 million verdict against the organization.
Federal appeals court affirms right to access voter registration applications
June 15, 2012
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond (4th Cir.) affirmed today that Virginia election officials violated the National Voter Registration Act by refusing to release completed voter registration applications. The court found that once the applicants' social security numbers were redacted, their applications were "unquestionably" public under the law.
Ill. judge rules officials' tweets, texts, and e-mail messages about public business are public records
June 14, 2012
Electronic communications -- specifically tweets, text and e-mail messages -- between city officials discussing public business are subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, even if they were sent from personal cellphones and accounts, a state circuit judge ruled.
Penn. court holds agency wrongfully ignored records request because they were requested incorrectly
June 14, 2012
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held Monday that written requests for records that do not comply with certain agency-specific request policies cannot merely be ignored.
Anti-SLAPP statute does not protect Calif. lawyer from malicious prosecution claim
June 13, 2012
A California appeals court ruled Friday that a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a Los Angeles-based attorney may proceed, reversing a lower court's holding that the state's anti-SLAPP statute protected the lawyer.
Federal court grants media organizations full access to Idaho execution
June 11, 2012
The media will be able to view the full execution of an Idaho death row inmate scheduled to be put to death tomorrow after a federal appeals court granted the journalists' request late Friday. The decision grants The Associated Press and 16 other media organizations’ request for complete access to the execution of convicted murderer Richard A. Leavitt, which is scheduled to take place Tuesday.
Court rules school board members' e-mail did not violate meetings laws
June 8, 2012
E-mail correspondence among school board members prior to the controversial closing of a public elementary school did not constitute secret meetings that violate Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Media organizations request full access to Idaho execution in federal court
June 8, 2012
A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Thursday in The Associated Press and 16 other media organizations’ request for full viewing access to an Idaho execution. AP Photo The Idaho execution chamber
New Jersey judge rejects blogger's newest assertion of statutory privilege
June 7, 2012
A New Jersey judge ruled once again that a blogger is not protected under the state's shield law, rejecting her latest claim that she was writing a nonfiction book. The state Supreme Court ruled last year that Washington private investigator Shellee Hale could not assert the shield law in a 2008 defamation suit against her and remanded the case to the trial court.
New York high court issues mixed ruling over access to names of informants in decades-old Communist probe
June 6, 2012
The names of informants who were promised confidentiality by the government during the New York City Board of Education’s “Anti-Communist Investigations" more than half a century ago will remain secret, the Court of Appeals of New York ruled Tuesday.
Media object to proposed Department of Labor press controls in Congressional hearing
June 6, 2012
News media executives and free press advocates expressed concern today at a House congressional committee regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposal to require journalists to use government-owned equipment when reporting newly released government job statistics.
Judge grants motion to dismiss 'birther' libel case under D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, First Amendment
June 5, 2012
A libel case brought by a 'birther' -- those who question whether President Obama is a natural-born American and eligible to be president -- ended prematurely when a U.S. district judge granted a magazine's motion to dismiss under the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, which protects speech relating to issues of public interest.