One of the many questions triggered by the Wikileaks story is whether laws that protect journalists and the print media apply to bloggers and others who provide newsgathering services via the internet. The trend is that disseminating news through a blog or other new media forum does not disqualify you from treatment as a journalist. If you act like a journalist, the courts are more inclined to treat you like a journalist.
The government’s desire to prosecute Julian Assange over Wikileaks’ release of thousands of classified documents could introduce additional nuances into the treatment of internet journalists. The government is considering prosecuting Assange under the Espionage Act which broadly criminalizes willfully retaining or communicating information relating to the national defense when done with knowledge that the communication could damage the United States.
Even though U.S. newspapers and journalists regularly publish stories and documents based on leaked government information (e.g., think the New York Times publication of the Pentagon Papers), the Espionage Act has never been used to indict a journalist. This is primarily in deference to the First Amendment. Several commentators have distinguished the actions of Assange and Wikileaks from the actions of more established and traditional media. Nevertheless, if Assange is prosecuted with anti-espionage laws, what does that mean for the news media’s reporting of defense topics?