{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://balint.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=673", "Balint and Wyden Introduce Bill to Strengthen Protections for Journalists Against Unreasonable Government Searches", "2026-03-29", "2026", "2026-03", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Becca Balint", "B001318", "balint.house.gov", "balint", "https://balint.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a bill on Friday to strengthen privacy protections against unreasonable government searches and seizures that could chill reporting critical of the government. The bill follows Donald Trump\u2019s Department of Justice (DOJ) raiding the home of a Washington Post reporter.\n\n\u201cThis is the most corrupt administration in history, and we only know that because journalists have been doing the tireless work of delivering truth and transparency to the American people,\u201d Balint said. \u201cA free press serves an essential role in our democracy, which is why it is protected by our Constitution. We need to close the loopholes that have allowed administrations to strong-arm and intimidate journalists, and I am proud to work with Senator Wyden to do just that.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father was a journalist who escaped Nazi Germany. He taught me you can\u2019t have a functioning democracy without a free press,\u201d Wyden said. \u201cOur bill sends a clear message that government agents have no business seizing the notes and electronic devices of reporters who are just doing their jobs. Congress must once again step up to protect journalists against attempts to intimidate reporters and chill sources who could blow the whistle on government wrongdoing.\u201d\n\nUnder the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, the government cannot search or seize journalists\u2019 documentary or work-product materials, except in certain narrow circumstances. Congress passed that law out of concern about the chilling effect of government raids on the press, and required the government to use less intrusive methods. Unfortunately, the law contains numerous loopholes that have been exploited across presidential administrations. The government never needs to prove an exception to the law before obtaining a search warrant, or even mention that the law exists. Even if a judge finds that a search or seizure is illegal under the Privacy Protection Act, the government can still use those illegally obtained materials in court.\n\nBalint and Wyden\u2019s bill would strengthen protections for journalists and close these loopholes. The Privacy Protection Updates Act would:\n\nRequire the government to disclose the existence of the Privacy Protection Act and prove that an exception applies, if the government wants to search or seize a journalist\u2019s materials with a warrant.\n\nMaintain the existing exception for exigent circumstances, but establish a new process for mandatory judicial review within 48 hours of the emergency seizures of a journalist\u2019s materials to determine whether the search or seizure was justified.\n\nCreate a process for suppression of journalist records that are illegally searched or seized.\n\nClarify that the Privacy Protection Act applies to journalist records stored on the cloud.\n\nThe Privacy Protection Updates Act is endorsed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Demand Progress, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Protect the 1st Foundation.\n\n\u201cFree people rely on a free press, and the press is only free if it is unrestricted by government spying and intimidation. Sen. Wyden and Rep. Balint\u2019s update to the Privacy Protection Act is a much-needed safeguard that removes incentives to ransack the notes and sources of reporters. This bill corrects the law to ensure that the government cannot suppress free journalism and speech,\u201d said Bob Goodlatte, former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Senior Policy Advisor for Protect the 1st.\n\n\u201cIgnorance of the law is no defense, unless you're a prosecutor looking for a warrant to ransack a journalist's files. At least six times in recent years -- most recently, the raid of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson -- prosecutors seeking such warrants have failed to disclose to judges that, subject to a few narrow exceptions, they're illegal under the Privacy Protection Act of 1980. By the time the judge figures it out, it's too late -- the journalist's sources are compromised, and they can't publish any stories or investigations stored on seized devices. We commend Sen. Wyden and Rep. Balint for recognizing this intolerable status quo and taking action to give the PPA some teeth and protect journalists' ability to inform the public. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum have opposed journalist surveillance in the past and we hope this bill receives the enthusiastic bipartisan support it deserves,\u201d wrote Seth Stern, Chief of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation.\n\n\u201cThe Privacy Protection Updates Act is what it looks like to take press freedom seriously. This necessary bill transforms a well-intentioned but outdated law into a modernized framework for a free and independent press with real consequences\u2014establishing a powerful exclusionary rule, requiring greater transparency from the government in warrant applications, and ending the weak damages-only civil remedy that left journalists unprotected. Press freedoms are too vital to be left to the government's honor system, especially when the White House keeps eroding our core civil liberties. We thank Sen. Wyden and Rep. Balint for their leadership and urge all members of Congress to get behind this needed bill,\u201d said Kate Oh, Special Advisor at Demand Progress.\n\n\u201cThe government needs guardrails to prevent overreach. Reforms to the Privacy Protection Act will strengthen protections, enabling journalists to do their job and keep the public informed,\u201d said Katherine Jacobsen, U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists.\n\nThe one-pager of the bill is here.\n\nThe full bill text is here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-06T21:05:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://balint.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=673"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.069850917905569, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}