Journalist privilege.

I’ll use the posting of JURIST to indicate that:

The US House Judiciary Committee [official website] on Wednesday approved a bill HR 951 that would limit the government’s ability to compel reporters to disclose confidential sources. Under the terms of the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009, parties seeking the identity of confidential sources from reporters in federal court must show that the information relates to an act of terrorism, national security, disclosure of trade secrets, or the imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm. The court must further be convinced that the party seeking the disclosure has exhausted all other means of acquiring the information, and that “the public interest in compelling disclosure of the information or document involved outweighs the public interest in gathering or disseminating news or information”. The bill also requires that the subject of a disclosure request be informed and given an opportunity to be heard before a communications service provider is compelled to disclose information about his or her activity. The protections in the proposed bill would extend only to reporters who receive “a substantial portion of the person’s livelihood or … substantial financial gain,” leaving courts free to compel the disclosure of confidential sources from many bloggers. The bill passed the committee on a voice vote, with passage expected in the full House [RCFP report].

Here is a link to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.