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Shield Law Passes U.S. Senate Judiciary

B&A, Thursday, December 10, 2009 11:23 PM

A federal shield law, The Free Flow of Information Act, finally passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday on Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's 17th attempt to get a vote. But that passage did not come without sometimes heated debate on a string of amendments by Republicans and a pair of Democrats.

The bill still must be voted in the full Senate then reconciled with a different version passed in the House. There could be more changes to the bill, such as finessing of the definition of journalist, which includes bloggers and freelancers. The bill gives journalists a qualified protection from being compelled to give up information or identify sources, though with exceptions for national security, bodily harm and sensitive personal and business information.

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