Media and Individual Privacy Protection Act of 1979

Summary

Media and Individual Privacy Protection Act of 1979 - Title I: Media Source Protection - Prohibits courts, grand juries, State or Federal administrative bodies, State legislatures, or Congress from requiring journalists, newscasters, or print or broadcast organizations to disclose news or the source of any news gathered for publication or broadcast. Title II: Searches and Seizures Involving the Media and Individuals - Provides penalties for seeking evidence of a crime, under color of law and not incident to a lawful arrest, without first obtaining a subpoena. Permits a court to issue a search warrant if it finds at a hearing that there is probable cause that the person in control of the evidence has committed or is committing the crime to which the evidence relates or that the evidence sought would be destroyed, concealed, or altered. Stipulates that the fruits of an unlawful search or seizure shall not be admissible in any criminal proceeding. Authorizes aggrieved individuals to commence civil actions in U.S. district courts. Permits States to enact laws giving increased protection to the gathering or dissemination of news.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 15 January 1979

  Open at official source

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.