Congress should ensure free flow of information

Newsday: Sometimes there are things citizens should know that powerful government officials would rather they didn’t. For that information to be revealed, journalists may need to protect the confidentiality of people who fear reprisal if they tell what they know.

To ensure journalists can protect their sources, Congress should pass the Free Flow of Information Act.

Such a bill has been stalled in the U.S. Senate, but now a compromise has been reached that fairly balances legitimate national security concerns with the need to protect journalists.

Public interest

Before a reporter could be required to reveal a confidential source, officials would have to convince a judge the testimony they’re seeking is essential, that all alternative means of getting the information have been exhausted, and that keeping it confidential would be against the public interest.

That’s a stern test — as it should be. But the compromise makes clear there are exceptions — also as there should be — for evidence of criminal activity and information that would prevent death, kidnapping, physical harm, terrorism, or harm to national security.

In every instance, judges should be required to balance the public interest in disclosure against its interest in maintaining the free flow of information. That way, what’s best for the public would always come first, just as it should.

The Senate Judiciary Committee should pass this bill without clogging it with hostile amendments by those who want to stop us from knowing.