Watch out: freedom of the press is in trouble. The fact that the US government wants to write and pass a law specifically to slam Julian Assange in jail is a very bad thing: for free speech, for freedom of the press, and for the American people. Let me explain.
What Wikileaks did was the same thing any other news organization would do with the same information: it’s a hot story, so publish it. You really think that the New York Times would hold back on a story which embarrasses Bush, or that Fox News would hold back on a story which embarrasses Obama?
Wikileaks did nothing illegal. Their right to release that information, not steal it, is protected by the First Amendment. I abridge:
“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of … the press”
This is exactly what the Wikileaks law will do: abridge the freedom of the press. Give government new powers to prosecute people who simply release embarrassing information to the public. Remember, from what has been reported, there is no information in the Wikileaks cables which could possibly endanger anyone. Worst case scenario, government officials get embarrassed. Which is a good thing.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment