In May 2010 , U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation intended to promote a free press around the world , a bipartisan measure inspired by the murder in Pakistan of Daniel Pearl , the '' Wall Street Journal '' reporter , shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001 . The legislation , called the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act , requires the United States Department of State to expand its scrutiny of news media restrictions and intimidation as part of its annual review of human rights in each country . In 2012 the Obama Administration collected communication records from 20 separate home and office lines for Associated Press reporters over a two-month period , possibly in an effort to curtail government leaks to the press . The surveillance caused widespread condemnation by First Amendment experts and free press advocates , and led 50 major media organizations to sign and send a letter of protest to United States attorney general Eric Holder
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Freedom of the press