for diverse, democratic and accountable media
Tomorrow, Tuesday, 15th March, the Investigatory Powers Bill is to get its second reading in Parliament – and it contains proposals to limit the ability of all journalists to protect their sources and whistleblowers, posing a severe threat to press freedom in the UK.
The Bill allows the state to snoop on journalists and their sources... “A lack of safeguards for all journalists will have profound consequences for the public's right to know in the UK" says NUJ General Secretary, Michelle Stanistreet.
Read more at http://salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=3165
The NUJ is not alone in having grave concerns about this latest version of the bill – we are joined by others in the media industry, trade unions, legal experts, and privacy and human rights campaigners.
These extremely intrusive and unnecessary surveillance powers trample over the very principles of journalism and will be a death knell for whistleblowers of the future. There are a growing number of politicians waking up to the dangers in this bill and we hope others will think hard before they cast their vote on Tuesday.
The government is using terrorism as an excuse to spy on journalists
Michelle Stanistreet | Media | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/14/government-terrorism-journalists-investigatory-powers-bill-snooper-charter