Prior Restraint: Freedom of the Press v. National Security

Abstract

A prior restraint is a court order banning publication of unpublished material. Clearly, this power needs to be squared with fundamental right to a free press as guaranteed by First Amendment to United States Constitution. extent to which exceptions to this First Amendment freedom can be justified has always been a matter of dispute. Perhaps most commonly accepted justification for use of prior restraints is that they protect national security. National security is a vague concept which changes in meaning and connotation through time. In New York Times v. US Government, 403 US 713 (1971), government attempted to prove that security of nation would have been threatened by furtherpublication of PentagonPapers, compilation of US involvement in Indochina from 19451968. Thus, government claimed that a prior restraint on publication was justified in order for US national security to be safeguarded. press, on other hand, claimed that national security was not threatened by publication of a series of articles based on Pentagon Papers. press' right to be free of governmental interference was at pinnacle of importance, while government's claim to national security was not substantial enough to abridge such fundamental rights. press checks internal workings of government, which is essential to a free and democratic country. To others, however, it may merely act as a conduit of governmental propaganda and an omnipresent nuisance. Even Daniel Ellsberg, man that initially exposed Pentagon Papers, criticized press for not being critical enough of Referring to press coverage of war in Persian Gulf, Ellsberg described press as having been the cheering section for war in gulf. press usually relies upon handouts; it is not adversarial to government. (Personal interview 2/21/91) The pooling of reporters is epitome of censorship mentality, he said. In a pooled system, army or government officials selectively report information only to a select group of press reporters.