A shield law covering bloggers? Consider the trade-off first

Do you want the Supreme Court of the United States telling us, at least in this country, who is or is not a journalist? And do you want SCOTUS telling us what information ought to be protected?

Your answers will probably reflect your attitude toward the Free Flow Information Act of 2007. It’s been introduced in the Senate as S. 1267 (see text) and the House as H.R. 2102 (see text). The definitions and language of the bill are sufficiently vague as to virtually invite the Supreme Court to legislate. The bill may also represent both protection — and a warning — to bloggers.

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