The New York Times on Thursday sued the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and chief DOD spokesperson Sean Parnell over the Pentagon’s new media policy.
The policy, announced in September, requires media outlets to pledge not to gather information that is not formally authorized for release by defense officials, NPR reported. It also bans credentialed journalists from reporting unclassified material that isn’t expressly approved for public consumption by DOD officials.
The Times argues that the policy is an attempt to force reporters to rely only on officials for news involving the military and would unlawfully allow them to be punished if they do not.
The DOD didn’t immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
The Times alleges in court documents that the policy violates First Amendment protections.
