I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2102 
To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions 
for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons 
connected with the news media. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2007 
Mr. BOUCHER (for himself, Mr. PENCE, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COBLE, Mr. 
YARMUTH, and Mr. WALDEN of Oregon) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To maintain the free flow of information to the public by 
providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure 
of information by certain persons connected with the 
news media. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Free Flow of Informa-
tion Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMPELLED DISCLOSURE FROM COVERED PER-
SONS. 
(a) CONDITIONS FOR COMPELLED DISCLOSURE.—In 
any proceeding or in connection with any issue arising 
under Federal law, a Federal entity may not compel a cov-
ered person to provide testimony or produce any document 
related to information possessed by such covered person 
as part of engaging in journalism, unless a court deter-
mines by a preponderance of the evidence, after providing 
notice and an opportunity to be heard to such covered per-
son— 
(1) that the party seeking to compel production 
of such testimony or document has exhausted all 
reasonable alternative sources (other than a covered 
person) of the testimony or document; 
(2) that— 
(A) in a criminal investigation or prosecu-
tion, based on information obtained from a per-
son other than the covered person— 
(i) there are reasonable grounds to be-
lieve that a crime has occurred; and 
(ii) the testimony or document sought 
is essential to the investigation or prosecu-
tion or to the defense against the prosecu-
tion; or 
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(B) in a matter other than a criminal in-
vestigation or prosecution, based on information 
obtained from a person other than the covered 
person, the testimony or document sought is es-
sential to the successful completion of the mat-
ter; 
(3) in the case that the testimony or document 
sought could reveal the identity of a source of infor-
mation or include any information that could reason-
ably be expected to lead to the discovery of the iden-
tity of such a source, that— 
(A) disclosure of the identity of such a 
source is necessary to prevent imminent and ac-
tual harm to national security with the objective 
to prevent such harm; 
(B) disclosure of the identity of such a 
source is necessary to prevent imminent death 
or significant bodily harm with the objective to 
prevent such death or harm, respectively; or 
(C) disclosure of the identity of such a 
source is necessary to identify a person who has 
disclosed— 
(i) a trade secret of significant value 
in violation of a State or Federal law; 
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(ii) individually identifiable health in-
formation, as such term is defined in sec-
tion 1171(6) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320d(6)), in violation of Federal 
law; or 
(iii) nonpublic personal information, 
as such term is defined in section 509(4) 
of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 
6809(4)), of any consumer in violation of 
Federal law; and 
(4) that nondisclosure of the information would 
be contrary to the public interest, taking into ac-
count both the public interest in compelling disclo-
sure and the public interest in gathering news and 
maintaining the free flow of information. 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON CONTENT OF INFORMATION.— 
The content of any testimony or document that is com-
pelled under subsection (a) shall, to the extent possible— 
(1) be limited to the purpose of verifying pub-
lished information or describing any surrounding cir-
cumstances relevant to the accuracy of such pub-
lished information; and 
(2) be narrowly tailored in subject matter and 
period of time covered so as to avoid compelling pro-
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duction of peripheral, nonessential, or speculative in-
formation. 
SEC. 3. COMPELLED DISCLOSURE FROM COMMUNICATIONS 
SERVICE PROVIDERS. 
(a) CONDITIONS FOR COMPELLED DISCLOSURE.— 
With respect to testimony or any document consisting of 
any record, information, or other communication that re-
lates to a business transaction between a communications 
service provider and a covered person, section 2 shall apply 
to such testimony or document if sought from the commu-
nications service provider in the same manner that such 
section applies to any testimony or document sought from 
a covered person. 
(b) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED TO COV-
ERED PERSONS.—A court may compel the testimony or 
disclosure of a document under this section only after the 
party seeking such a document provides the covered per-
son who is a party to the business transaction described 
in subsection (a)— 
(1) notice of the subpoena or other compulsory 
request for such testimony or disclosure from the 
communications service provider not later than the 
time at which such subpoena or request is issued to 
the communications service provider; and 
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(2) an opportunity to be heard before the court 
before the time at which the testimony or disclosure 
is compelled. 
(c) EXCEPTION TO NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—Notice 
under subsection (b)(1) may be delayed only if the court 
involved determines by clear and convincing evidence that 
such notice would pose a substantial threat to the integrity 
of a criminal investigation. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE
PROVIDER.— 
The term ‘‘communications service provider’’— 
(A) means any person that transmits infor-
mation of the customer’s choosing by electronic 
means; and 
(B) includes a telecommunications carrier, 
an information service provider, an interactive 
computer service provider, and an information 
content provider (as such terms are defined in 
sections 3 and 230 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153, 230)). 
(2) COVERED
PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 
person’’ means a person engaged in journalism and 
includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, 
or affiliate of such covered person. 
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