Canada Supreme Court ruling raises concern over protection of journalists’ confidential communication with sources, says OSCE Media Freedom Representative

VIENNA, 3 December 2018 - Today, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir expressed concern over the decision by the Canadian Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling obliging VICE reporter Ben Makuch to hand over his private communications with a source.

In 2016, Makuch was obliged, through a court approved order, to disclose his private communications on a series of interviews he conducted in 2014 with a Canadian citizen who joined Islamic State. Makuch refused to hand over the communications, appealed and lost in a lower court. The Supreme Court of Canada later decided to hear his case.

“The confidentiality of journalistic communication is an important element of media freedom, widely recognized and protected by international standards and Canadian legislation. “Infringing on journalists' confidentiality rights can lead to the silencing of sources, thereby undermining the ability of the media to report on issues of public interest,” said Désir. “Protection of sources should also include communication and raw data collected by the journalist.”

Désir noted that the Supreme Court's ruling requires positive changes to be made in how law enforcement obtains warrants and court orders from news outlets.

The new Journalistic Source Protection Act, known as Bill S-231, that was adopted last month includes strong protection of sources. “I wish that in the future this protection would also apply the protection of journalists’ communications,” concluded Désir.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.