This document compares press freedoms in the United States and India. In the United States, freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment, however it is subject to some restrictions. In India, there is no specific provision for press freedom in the constitution. The document outlines several Supreme Court cases that have upheld broad press freedoms in the US, but also notes some exceptions where restrictions were placed, such as during wartime. It concludes by noting some recent incidents where press access was limited, such as with Wikileaks and coverage of the BP oil spill.

1. A COMPARITIVE STUDY
BETWEEN AMERICAN AND
INDIAN PRESS FREEDOMS
PRESENTED BY
JISHNU KRISHNAN

3. Absence of statutory and
administrative control on spreading
of ideas, knowledge and thoughts

4. • Freedom of the press in the United States is
protected by the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution. This clause is
generally understood as prohibiting the
government from interfering with the printing
and distribution of information or opinions,
although freedom of the press, like freedom
of speech, is subject to some restrictions, such
as defamation law and copyright law.

5. • In India article 19 (1) a speaks about freedom
of speech ,expression etc…
• There is no special provision for press
freedom
• Many discussions happened during the
framing but later they decided not to specify
the word press freedom

6. • In Lovell v. City of Griffin, Chief Justice Hughes
defined the press as, "every sort of publication
which affords a vehicle of information and
opinion."This includes everything from
newspapers to blogs.

7. • New York Times Co. v. United States (1971): The
Supreme Court upheld the publication of
the Pentagon Papers.
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964): The
Supreme Court held that when a publication
involves a public figure, in order to support a suit
for libel, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving
that the publisher acted with "actual malice,"
meaning that the publisher knew of the falsity of
the statement or acted with reckless disregard as
to the truth of the statement.

8. • In 2009 the United States climbed 16 places
from 36th in 2008 with a score of 4.00,
with Denmark, Finland, Ireland,
Norway and Sweden tied for first place with
0.00 and Eritrea bottom of the list with
115.50.

9. Notable exceptions
• In 1798, not long after the adoption of the Constitution, the
governing Federalist Party attempted to stifle criticism by means
of the Alien and Sedition Acts.These restrictions on freedom of
the press proved very unpopular in the end and worked against
the Federalists, leading to the party's eventual demise. Thomas
Jefferson was among those who opposed the Acts, and did so
vehemently, and he was elected President in the election of 1800.
Jefferson then pardoned most of those convicted under the Acts.
He made it a principle not to ask what they had done, but only
whether they had been charged under the Acts. In his first
Inaugural Address in 1801 he reiterated his longstanding
commitment to freedom of speech and of the press: "If there be
any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change
its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of
the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where
reason is left free to combat it."

10. • The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918,
which amended it, imposed restrictions on the free press
during wartime. It carried fines of $10,000 and up to 20
years imprisonment for people publishing "... disloyal,
profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of
government of the United States or the Constitution of
the United States, or the military or naval forces of the
United States ..." In Schenck v. United States (1919), the
Supreme Court upheld the laws, setting the "Clear and
present danger" standard. Congress repealed both laws in
1921, and Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) revised the "Clear
and present danger" test to the "Imminent lawless action"
test, which is less restrictive.

11. • 1988: Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier: The Supreme
Court upheld that the principal of a school has
the right to review and block controversial
articles of a school paper funded by the school
and published in the school's name.

12. • In the United States in 2005, interpretation of
the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act may
consider political statements as being the
equivalent of campaign donations. Because
access to Internet statements are weakly
controlled, the campaign value of statements is
not known in advance and a high ultimate value
may trigger large fines for violations. This
particularly threatens Internet statements by
individuals, and ambiguous definitions of
membership in the press make the possible
effects ambiguous.

13. • 2008: Wikileaks was forcefully censored by the
United States. Wikileaks was given only hours
notice "by email" prior to the hearing. Wikileaks
pre-litigation California council Julie Turner
attended the start of hearing in a personal
capacity but was then asked to leave the court
room. After appeal, however, all the courts of
appeal threw out the case, restoring access to
Wikileaks.
•

14. • 2010: BP collaborates with United States Coast
Guard, state law enforcement and local law
enforcement officials to prevent the press
from properly documenting the Gulf oil spill

18. THANKS