The bill is NOT about bloggers. It’s about journalists. Bloggers should not be the lede, nor the headline.

Myopic computer press.

Bush administration attacks ‘shield’ for bloggers
By Anne Broache
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: June 14, 2007, 12:19 PM PDT
Last modified: June 14, 2007, 1:52 PM PDT

WASHINGTON–The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources.

The latest draft of the Free Flow of Information Act would pose a grave threat to national security and federal criminal investigations by protecting far too large a segment of the population, a U.S. Department of Justice official told Congress.

“The definition is just so broad that it really includes anyone who wants to post something to the Web,” Rachel Brand, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing here. She also argued it would protect “a terrorist operative who videotaped a message from a terrorist leader threatening attacks on Americans.”

Justice Department opposition has bedeviled Congress throughout its numerous attempts in recent years to enact federal shield laws. Supporters say such legislation is needed in light of high-profile cases involving New York Times reporter Judith Miller and what free-press advocacy groups characterize as a sharp rise in subpoenas to reporters in recent years.

Laws recognizing some form of “reporter’s privilege” already exist in 49 states and the District of Columbia–but, crucially, do not shield journalists from federal prosecutors. The Bush Administration claims there’s no evidence that source-related subpoenas to reporters are on the rise and argues that it already has robust internal guidelines, including a requirement that the attorney general personally approve such subpoenas and provide an appropriate balance between press freedom and investigative needs.

This year’s Free Flow of Information Act, which has been introduced in both the House and Senate, proposes a protection for a broader swath of people than earlier versions. It covers anyone engaged in journalism, which is defined as “gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.”

Even those covered individuals could be forced to give up their sources under certain circumstances, including when it’s clear that crimes have been committed, when “imminent and actual harm” to national security could occur, or when trade secrets, nonpublic personal information or health records are compromised in violation of existing laws.