Despite passing overwhelmingly in the House, and surviving an initial hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, forward progress on federal shield legislation has now been ground to a halt by Administration objections. In a contentious second hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee in mid-September, Republicans on the Committee raised considerable objections to several elements of the bill, and prevented the bill from moving forward. While working to address Republican concerns, following a meeting with top national security officials, the Obama Administration, which had been working cooperatively with the bill sponsors, proposed changes to the legislation that effectively vitiated the bill’s protections for reporters.
As MPA members continue to move into a broader distribution platforms, protection of intellectual property is of ever increasing importance... Read more
