Limit Freedom of the Press?

In 2013, following the publication of classified information gleaned from top secret documents leaked to the press, the US government conducted several investigations into these unauthorized disclosures. ¹ The government eventually extended these investigations to the press, collecting phone records and subpoenaing reporters, not to prosecute the reporters, but to identify the leakers. ² These actions were widely criticized by the media, civil libertarians, liberals, and others who decried the government as constraining freedom of the press. ³ At the same time, government officials and their defenders argued that clamping down on leaks was necessary in order to preserve ongoing national security efforts. ⁴ This chapter asks the following questions about this topic: What normative framework should one apply in finding the proper balance between the freedom of the press and national security? What effect, if any, should the change in historical conditions have on this balance? ⁵ When highly sensitive national security information is leaked to the press, who has the authority to render the weighty decisions about whether to publish such information? ⁶ To what extent has the publication of classified information damaged national security? ⁷ To what extent have the subsequent leak investigations undermined freedom of the press? ⁸ What mechanisms are available if the balance between liberty and security needs to be recalibrated? ⁹ What steps can be taken to narrow the conflict between freedom of the press and national security? ¹⁰ What role must moral dialogues play before major legal and institutional changes can be introduced? ¹¹