Infromation security

Journalists who report leaked information could be jailed under amended act

The British government has announced plans to criminalise the practice of reporting on leaked documents, in an update of the Espionage Act. The move, which could see journalists jailed for as much as 14 years, is being called a campaign against whistleblowing, by detractors.

Over the past few years, as surveillance of citizens has increased by countries like the U.S. and UK, leaks from whistleblowers and hackers have become much more common place. People like Edward Snowden and Chelsea manning have been criminalised for their revelatory acts, while journalists have aided them in getting the information out to the public. That may change in the future if the proposed tweaks to British law are made.