New research - 11-point plan for protecting journalism sources in the digital age

Acts of journalism should be shielded from targeted surveillance, data retention and handover of material connected to confidential sources. That’s a key early finding of a study on the state of journalistic source protection in 121 countries undertaken for UNESCO by the World Editors Forum (within WAN-IFRA). Preliminary outcomes from the research were launched in Washington DC today during the World News Media Congress. The legal frameworks that protect the confidential sources of journalism - essential to reporting information in the public interest that may otherwise never come to light - are under significant strain around the world in the digital era. There’s now a need to revise and strengthen them - or introduce them where they don’t exist, according to the forthcoming UNESCO-commissioned study: Protecting Sources of Journalism in the Digital Age. http://www.ifex.org/international/2015/06/05/journalism_sources/http://www.ifex.org/international/2015/06/05/protecting_journalism_sources_wanifra.pdf https://wikileaks.org/w/images/c/c0/Silencingsources.pdf protecting journalism sources in the digital age An International Survey of Protections and Threats to Journalists’ Sources