Wikileaks.org Closing Doesn't Secure Bank's Client Info

Bill would require funeral protesters to stay extra 100 feet away

(NEWSER) - Westboro Baptist Church could soon find itself foiled in Illinois. The state Senate passed a measure yesterday that broadens the protection granted to funerals, requiring any protesters to remain at least 300 feet away from the site rather than the currently required 200 feet. The original House bill, proposed by a sociology class at Northern Illinois University, required a 1,000-foot limit. More»

'Wired' columnist: Other tech companies should follow suit

(NEWSER) - When the US government told Twitter to hand over its information about WikiLeaks figures, the company did what is so unfortunately rare these days, writes Ryan Singel at Wired . It "beta-tested a spine" and stood up for the First Amendment. The easiest course of action would have been to quietly acquiesce; instead, Twitter successfully challenged a gag order about the request in court, then notified the targets so they could fight back. More»

Ecuador, meanwhile, offers WikiLeaks founder residency

(NEWSER) - The US government is trying to pin Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks cohorts with charges under the Espionage Act—a 1917 law that predated various Supreme Court cases expanding First Amendment protections. The FBI is examining everyone who came into possession of the State Department cables that leaked yesterday, sources tell the Washington Post . The Justice Department has also warned that media organizations could be prosecuted for printing leaked information, though experts think that’s unlikely. More»

(NEWSER) - The ACLU and other watchdog groups on both the left and right think President Obama is carrying his crusade against lobbyists too far, Politico reports. Obama's recent directive forbidding government officials from discussing how to spend the stimulus with lobbyists infringes on free speech, they say. The groups plan to send a formal letter of protest to the White House next week. More»

Case of posted documents raised free-speech issues

(NEWSER) - The Swiss bank that sued over private documents posted on Wikileaks.org has withdrawn the motion, the AP reports. Bank Julius Baer did not say why it pulled the case, but the cease-fire brings an end to a case that raised First Amendment questions when a judge ordered the site to remove the documents. Those questions later prompted the judge to revoke the injunction. More»