Reporters Without Borders: Notable conclusions for the press freedom in some Western democracies for 2014
“The
ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to
interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive
manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This
trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering
freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies.”
“Countries that pride themselves
on being democracies and respecting the rule of law have not set an
example, far from it. Freedom of information is too often sacrificed
to an overly broad and abusive interpretation of national security
needs, marking a disturbing retreat from democratic practices.
Investigative journalism often suffers as a result.
This has been the case in the United
States (46th), which fell 13 places, one of the most significant
declines, amid increased efforts to track down whistleblowers and the
sources of leaks. The
trial and conviction
of Private Bradley Manning and the pursuit
of NSA analyst Edward Snowden were
warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of
sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest.
US journalists were stunned by the
Department
of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press phone records without
warning in order to identify the source of a CIA leak. It served as a
reminder of the urgent
need for a “shield law” to protect the confidentiality of
journalists’ sources at the federal level. The revival of the
legislative process is little consolation for James
Risen of The New York Times, who is subject to a court order to
testify against a former CIA employee accused of leaking classified
information. And less still for
Barrett
Brown, a young freelance journalist facing 105 years in prison in
connection with the posting of information that hackers obtained from
Statfor, a private intelligence company with close ties to the
federal government.
The United Kingdom (33rd, -3)
distinguished itself in the war on terror by the disgraceful
pressure it put on The Guardian newspaper and by its detention
of David Miranda, journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner and
assistant, for nine hours. Both the US
and UK authorities seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers
instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance
practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both
countries.”
“The
European Union’s members are becoming more dispersed in the index,
a development accelerated by the effects of the economic crisis and
outbreaks of populism. Greece (99th, -14) and Hungary (64th, -7) are
the most notable examples. In Greece, journalists
are often the victims of physical attacks by members of Golden Dawn,
the neo-Nazi party that entered parliament in June 2012. The
government’s actions have also contributed to the fall. By closing
the state broadcaster under pressure from the Troika (the European
Commission, European Central Bank and IMF), Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras seems to be cutting back on democracy to save money.”
The
whole report here:
http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php#
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