Israel Matzav: US government targeting bloggers

US government targeting bloggers

The US government is targeting bloggers who wrote about a security directive that was issued in the aftermath of Delta Flight 253 last Friday (Hat Tip: Instapundit).

The Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident.

TSA special agents served subpoenas to travel bloggers Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding that they reveal who leaked the security directive to them. The government says the directive was not supposed to be disclosed to the public.

At Boing Boing, Xeni Jardin has a lot more details and says that the directive was non-classified.

On Friday, December 25, following the incident in which a Nigerian man attempted to blow up a US-bound flight, the TSA issued an urgent, non-classified security directive to thousands of contacts around the world—airlines, airports, and so on. On Saturday, December 26, airlines and airports around the world further circulated that emailed document and began implementing the procedures described. On Sunday December 27, two bloggers published the content of the TSA directive online (some portions had already been showing up on airline websites). And on Tuesday, December 29, Special Agents from the TSA's Office of Inspection showed up at the homes of bloggers Steven Frischling and Christopher Elliott, and interrogated each on where they obtained the document. Both bloggers received civil subpoenas.

Can you say 'chilling effect'? Read the whole thing.

Israel Matzav: US government targeting bloggers