WikiLeaks
took to Twitter to criticize what the organization describes as the
continued “censorship” of the Panama Papers archive by the
organizations and reporters who control the contents of the leak.
The massive
archive of 2.6 terabytes of financial data leaked from Panama-based
law firm Mossack Fonseca is controlled by German newspaper
Süddeutsche Zeitung, the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, and hundreds of journalists who have been selected to
write about the archive’s contents.
The Panama
Papers exposed the efforts the world’s wealthiest people, including
more than a dozen world leaders, take to hide their earnings from tax
authorities. The release caused upheaval in Iceland’s government
and protests in the United Kingdom.
A growing
number of international authorities are demanding access to the
archive, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, including a
German finance minister and representatives of the U.S. Justice
Department. But ICIJ’s director told DW last week that they would
reject these and all similar requests.
“Our
focus is journalism … ICIJ, and its parent organization, the Center
for Public Integrity, are media organizations shielded by the First
Amendment and other legal protections from becoming an arm of law
enforcement,” Gerard Ryle said.
WikiLeaks
sharply criticized this decision, suggesting on Tuesday that time was
running out for these investigations as money is moved and evidence
destroyed.
However, in
an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit on Tuesday, the
investigative unit at Süddeutsche Zeitung argued that limiting
access to the archive was a way to protect the source of the leak:
“As journalists, we have to protect our source: we can’t
guarantee that there is no way for someone to find out who the source
is with the data.” In response, WikiLeaks slammed this as an
“entirely bogus” justification by ICIJ that allows for “lucrative
privatization” of the Panama Papers.
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