In a move that shocked journalists and democracy advocates alike, the Pentagon has quietly issued sweeping new restrictions on press freedom — including a requirement that journalists obtain government approval before publishing even unclassified information.

Reporters who do not sign a new agreement to follow these restrictions will have their press credentials revoked.

This is not national security. It’s government censorship.

Under the new rules:

• Reporters are banned from publishing unclassified material unless it has been “authorized for release” by the government
• Access to large parts of the Pentagon building is restricted, with mandatory escorts required
• Journalists can lose their credentials based on vague and undefined “security risk” assessments
   

The National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, and military press corps have all condemned the policy as unconstitutional. Legal scholars are calling it prior restraint — a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

Even Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, warned that this is an “ill-advised affront to free speech”.

We call on:

• Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to immediately rescind this gag order
• The Department of Defense to restore prior press access standards
• Congress to investigate the legality and origins of this policy and act to safeguard journalist access to the Pentagon.

The Department of Defense doesn’t get to decide what the American people are allowed to know. That’s the job of a free and independent press.