One of the arguments I make in my dissertation is that it is puzzling that press freedom is absent from the human rights discussion, despite its centrality for democracy and the fight against tyranny. The first reaction people usually have is to blame it on the influence of authoritarian states like China or Russia: of course they don’t want press freedom to become more prominent; it undermines their power. What we tend to forget, however, is that press freedom in democratic countries is also under increasing attack. The U.S. Department of Justice seizing confidential phone records of AP reporters is just the latest installment in the saga of ever eroding press freedoms in the West. I’m currently working on turning my first two dissertation chapters into an article about – among other things – precisely this situation. And well, the AP story comes in rather handy. In this case, what’s bad for the world, is good for my dissertation.

On the bright side, though, this whole DOJ debacle has finally drawn attention to the dismal treatment of journalists under the Obama administration. The Wonkblog explains that, worst of all, the DOJ actions are legal because of the so-called ‘third party doctrine.’ If you voluntarily turn over information to a third party, like a phone company when dialing a number or an Internet company when storing your emails in the cloud, this information won’t be protected under the Fourth Amendment.

Journalists get a bit of a special deal here. The government has established special policies to guard against inappropriate surveillance of reporters. Before an FBI agent can seek a journalist’s call records, they must get special approval from the attorney general. But that’s merely a Justice Department policy, not a constitutional requirement. The policy could be changed in the future, and the lack of independent oversight makes abuses more likely.

This clearly needs to change. Press freedom needs to be firmly anchored in our domestic legislation, and these developments show just how neglected it has become in this country. It’s no surprise that press freedom is virtually absent from the human rights debate, if even the poster child of upholding a free press is trying to undermine the principle every chance it gets.