(New York, NY) — PEN America today condemned a trial judge’s decision to extend the temporary ban stopping the New York Times from publishing content on the conservative activist group Project Veritas.
“This decision is an egregious violation of the protections afforded to the press in the First Amendment,” said Summer Lopez, senior director of free expression programs at PEN America. “Any restrictions on a newspaper’s ability to report and publish freely are cause for concern, and the courts have historically and rightly set an exceptionally high threshold for prior restraint. The court’s decision in this case shows an alarming disregard for that precedent and poses a direct threat both to freedom of the press and the public’s right to know.”