Tell the Senate to pass the PRESS Act now

America was founded to include a robust, free press. Democracy doesn’t work without one.

But right now free press is under threat. There is no federal “shield law” in the U.S. that protects reporters and their anonymous sources. While most U.S. states have their own shield laws, the rules vary and do not apply to the federal government.

That means the federal government can force journalists to disclose the identity of their sources, or secretly seize journalists’ email and phone records, in order to determine a source’s identity.

This urgently needs to change.

In January 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, without objection, the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act or PRESS Act. The bill would help journalists protect their anonymous sources, including whistleblowers, from government-compelled disclosure.

Its companion bill is now onto the Senate, where a similar bill was stalled last Congress. This cannot happen again.

Join The Signals Network in urging Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass the PRESS Act and improve protections for journalists and their sources.

The Signals Network works with sources daily who are working with journalists to expose wrongdoing across sectors from the government to health care to tech. These people take extreme financial, career, personal and safety risks to speak out and provide information to reporters. They and the journalists they work with need the protections in the PRESS Act. Our democracy deserves it.

Sign this petition and join us in calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the PRESS Act today.