LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomeEvidence CodeDiv. 8Ch. 5§ 1070 News Source Protection

§ 1070 News Source Protection

Evidence Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 1070 News Source Protection

Key Takeaways

  • •Journalists (like reporters, editors, or TV news people) can’t be punished for refusing to reveal who gave them secret info for a story.
  • •They also can’t be punished for not sharing notes, recordings, or other stuff they collected but didn’t publish.
  • •This rule applies to newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and online news—anyone who shares news with the public.

Example

A reporter writes a story about a secret government project. The government asks who told them, but the reporter refuses to say.

The reporter can’t get in trouble for keeping their source a secret because the law protects journalists from being forced to reveal their sources.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 1070 News Source Protection

(a) A publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with or employed upon a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, or by a press association or wire service, or any person who has been so connected or employed, cannot be adjudged in contempt by a judicial, legislative, administrative body, or any other body having the power to issue subpoenas, for refusing to disclose, in any proceeding as defined in Section 901, the source of any information procured while so connected or employed for publication in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication, or for refusing to disclose any unpublished information obtained or prepared in gathering, receiving or processing of information for communication to the public. (b) Nor can a radio or television news reporter or other person connected with or employed by a radio or television station, or any person who has been so connected or employed, be so adjudged in contempt for refusing to disclose the source of any information procured while so connected or employed for news or news commentary purposes on radio or television, or for refusing to disclose any unpublished information obtained or prepared in gathering, receiving or processing of information for communication to the public. (c) As used in this section, “unpublished information” includes information not disseminated to the public by the person from whom disclosure is sought, whether or not related information has been disseminated and includes, but is not limited to, all notes, outtakes, photographs, tapes or other data of whatever sort not itself disseminated to the public through a medium of communication, whether or not published information based upon or related to such material has been disseminated. (Amended by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1456, Sec. 2.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

informationportroadfineemployeesubpoenapublicationcommunication

Related Statutes

  • § 1038.2 Human Trafficking Victim Confidentiality
  • § 1035.4 Sexual Assault Counselor Confidentiality
  • § 1045 Peace Officer Complaint Records
  • § 1156.1 Medical Research Committee Records
  • § 1380 Elder Abuse Hearsay Exception

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Evidence Code. Section 1070.
View Official Source