So, this spring, Puerto Rico passed a constitutional amendment to create a new criminal charge for anyone sharing false info about public emergencies. This statute was then used to silence/scare people sharing info about COVID that officials wanted to keep a tight lid on. 1/

The @ACLU sued Puerto Rican officials on behalf of two journalists who were chilled by the statute. This summer, the gov't amended the law to read less obviously a violation of press freedom. But still very bad and a violation of the First Amendment. 2/

. @PENamerica & the UGA First Amendment Clinic filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff journalists, arguing that the law was overly vague & that such fake news statutes are vehicles used *not* to target purveyors of disinformation but to chill legitimate reporting. 3/

Puerto Rican officials are opposing our brief, arguing that our brief seeks to further "political" interests by protecting press freedom. PEN America is a nonpartisan nonprofit & the First Amendment Clinic of UGA is an academic institution. 4/

But make no mistake, PEN America & the UGA First Amendment clinic seek to protect free speech and press freedom wherever it is threatened, esp at the hands of gov't. @PENamerica sued our own president for his retaliatory actions against reporters he dislikes. 5/

Our brief today: "Where govt officials attempt to either use the machinery of govt to legislate the contours of press freedom or to take discretionary & unconstitutional actions against the media, PEN America defends the 1st Amendment. rights of its Members [& others]." 6/

Our work feels more essential than ever. Attacks from law enforcement against reporters covering protests, targeting of BIPOC media as somehow "biased," a president that sidelines/silences press he dislikes, efforts like this in Puerto Rico to limit public access to reporting. 7/