SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Campaigners have expressed outrage at new proposals that could lead to journalists being jailed for up to 14 years for obtaining leaked official documents. The major overhaul of the Official Secrets Act – to be replaced by an updated Espionage Act – would give courts the power to increase jail terms against journalists receiving official material. The new law, should it get approval, would see documents containing "sensitive information" about the economy fall foul of national security laws for the first time.
In theory a journalist leaked Brexit documents deemed harmful to the UK economy could be jailed as a consequence.
[...] John Cooper QC, a leading criminal and human rights barrister who has served on two law commission working parties, added: "These reforms would potentially undermine some of the most important principles of an open democracy."
[...] "It is shocking that so few organisations were consulted on these proposed changes given the huge implications for public interest journalism in this country," said Ms Ginsberg.
The Law Commission sought advice from media groups including Guardian Media as well as civil liberties groups including Liberty and Open Rights Group. Other groups consulted included the intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 as well as several government departments and senior politicians and lawyers.
[...] The Law Commission recommendations state that there should be "no restriction on who can commit the offence," including hackers, politicians and journalists.
[...] A Law Commission spokesman said it was "both misleading and incorrect" to suggest journalists were at any greater risk under the planned law changes.
Source: The Telegraph
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @03:49AM
Leaked documents isn't theft?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Desler on Tuesday February 14 2017, @04:00AM
Nope, whistleblowing is public service and in free society it is not a crime.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @04:02AM
Certainly not if they were merely copied. More importantly, even if it were theft, it could easily be justified if the documents revealed that the government was acting criminally and/or unethically. It's beyond retarded to think of whistleblowing as being on the same level as mere theft, even if some theft was involved; it's to the point where, in order to think of it that way, you either have to be trolling or you have a crippling mental disorder (or are an authoritarian, but that's pretty much the same thing).
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @01:36PM
Or similarly,
all veterans who return are promptly arrested for murder 1.
All cops are jailed for constant 'abductions', 'threats of violence', ... (And their bosses all the way up arrested for ordering the murders and abductions)
If you think whistle blowing is the same as theft, than I'd be amused to hear your argument why cops and soldiers should not be treated as criminals.