Bill would shield media from Internet searches

A bill that would bar Montana government agencies from going after a reporter’s sources or information through Internet companies like Google was brought to the Montana Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22. No one at the hearing spoke in opposition to the bill.

Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, who introduced the bill, said Montana has one of the best media shield laws but his bill would close an electronic communications loophole.

“My bill does not change existing law but adds to it based on a new age of digital communications,” he said.

The state’s current media protection law doesn’t address a reporter’s e-mails or other electronic information that may be stored on the servers of a communications provider, such as Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook, Zolnikov said.

“When it’s on a Gmail server, it’s not your information anymore,” he said, creating a loophole through which agencies could seek and possibly obtain a reporter’s notes.

Under House Bill 207, anyone in state government would be prohibited from asking for a member of the media’s e-mails or other electronic communications from companies that store that information.

John MacDonald, a lobbyist with the Montana Newspaper Association, told committee members the bill simply lets people know that a journalist’s information on iCloud or a third-party server is as protected as the information in a reporter’s desk. He also said he didn’t know of any cases in Montana where a reporter’s sources or notes were requested in this way.

“We’ve been very lucky so far that we don’t know of an issue like this occurring,” MacDonald said. “I like that we’re getting out in front of something.”

Montana would be first state in the nation to pass this type of protective bill, Zolnikov said. Most states have laws providing protections to the media but no federal law exists.