(AP / CBS)
From CBS News – Justice Dept. Asked For News Site’s Visitor Lists
Key excerpt:
In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day.
The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site “not to disclose the existence of this request” unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization.
The article goes on to say that the Justice Department would not at any point disclose ‘why’ the subpoena was issued or what they were investigating. They also issued a gag order. I would wager that Indymedia will win this contest, but who knows any more… More:
Under long-standing Justice Department guidelines, subpoenas to members of the news media are supposed to receive special treatment. One portion of the guidelines, for instance, says that “no subpoena may be issued to any member of the news media” without “the express authorization of the attorney general” – that would be current attorney general Eric Holder – and subpoenas should be “directed at material information regarding a limited subject matter.”
Still unclear is what criminal investigation U.S. Attorney Morrison was pursuing. Last Friday, a spokeswoman initially promised a response, but Morrison sent e-mail on Monday evening saying: “We have no comment.” The Justice Department in Washington, D.C. also declined to respond.
For those of you who don’t believe that this administration is getting ready to clamp down on the Internet (since they already control the rest of the media except for Fox News), you are in for a rude awakening. Blogs like this one may very well be yesterday’s news so-to-speak within a year if Obama and his cronies get their way on media diversity and Net Neutrality. This is just a taste of the jackbooted tactics of the White House Mob – papers please!
Now, the subpoena was withdrawn (no explanation) and so was the gag order that was issued (which would never stand up in court any way). What the hell? The Justice Department wanted the IP address of EVERYONE who visited the Indymedia site on a particular date. This is totally unconstitutional and an infringement on our freedom of speech and freedom in general.
These thuggish tactics have to be stopped – whatever it takes folks. I don’t visit Indymedia much, but one by one, every blogger who disagrees with Dear Leader has a target on their forehead. Don’t wait to see the brain matter, stop the government from swinging their sledgehammer.
