{ "slug": "access_ban", "name": "Access bans", "definition": "A government or official bars a reporter or a news organisation from places or events where news is gathered: briefings, government buildings, press pools, official trips or court hearings. The ban may be announced, or made by refusing entry without notice. It does not stop publication, but it cuts reporters off from officials and from events that other outlets can still cover.", "notes": null, "first_recorded_on": "2018-11-07", "incident_count": 10, "by_country": [ { "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "count": 9, "by_year": { "2018": [ { "slug": "2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass", "title": "United States: White House suspension of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, November 2018", "occurred_on": "2018-11-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "An exchange between Acosta and Trump at a White House news conference on November 7, 2018, after the United States midterm elections.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2018-11-19", "outcome_note": "A temporary restraining order of 2018-11-16 required reinstatement; the White House restored the pass on 2018-11-19 and CNN dropped the suit.", "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 2, "summary": "On November 7, 2018, the White House suspended the hard pass of CNN's White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, after what Gulf News called a \"heated confrontation\" between Acosta and the president of the United States, Donald Trump, at a news conference after the country's midterm elections. A hard pass is the standing credential that lets a reporter enter the White House press area without applying each day. On November 16, 2018, a federal judge granted CNN a temporary restraining order requiring the pass to be reinstated, and the White House restored it on November 19, 2018, after which CNN dropped its lawsuit.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass" } ], "2024": [ { "slug": "2024-louisiana-enacts-police-buffer-zone-law", "title": "United States (Louisiana): 25-foot buffer zone law around police officers, May 2024", "occurred_on": "2024-05-24", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-LA", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "jeff-landry", "leader_name": "Jeff Landry", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2025-01-31", "outcome_note": "Enforcement blocked by a preliminary injunction on 2025-01-31 while the case is pending; Louisiana's appeal was reported pending as of mid-2026.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On May 28, 2024, the governor of Louisiana, a state in the southern United States, Jeff Landry, signed a law that makes it a crime to stay within 25 feet (about 7.6 metres) of a working law enforcement officer after the officer has told a person to step back. The law applies to everyone, including journalists. Supporters described it as protecting officers' safety while they work. On January 31, 2025, a federal judge blocked its enforcement while a challenge to it is decided.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-louisiana-enacts-police-buffer-zone-law" } ], "2025": [ { "slug": "2025-florida-halo-law-takes-effect", "title": "United States (Florida): Halo Law buffer zone around first responders, January 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-FL", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "ron-desantis", "leader_name": "Ron DeSantis", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2025-01-01", "outcome_note": "In effect from 2025-01-01; the sources cited report no court order blocking it (as of 2026-09-22).", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On January 1, 2025, the \"Halo Law\" took effect in Florida, a state in the south-eastern United States. It creates a 25-foot (7.6-metre) buffer zone around first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and paramedics, while they are performing their duties, and anyone who enters the zone \"to 'harass, impede or threaten' first responders after receiving a warning\" faces up to 60 days in prison and a fine of US$500. The law applies to journalists as well as the public. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, signed it in 2024.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-florida-halo-law-takes-effect" }, { "slug": "2025-federal-judge-blocks-louisiana-buffer-law", "title": "United States (Louisiana): Federal court order blocking enforcement of the police buffer zone law, January 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-01-31", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-LA", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "jeff-landry", "leader_name": "Jeff Landry", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2025-01-31", "outcome_note": "Preliminary injunction granted 2025-01-31; Louisiana's appeal was reported pending as of mid-2026.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On January 31, 2025, Judge John W. deGravelles of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, a federal trial court, blocked enforcement of the state's 25-foot (7.6-metre) police buffer zone law with a preliminary injunction, an order that keeps the situation as it is while a case is decided. He wrote that \"the distance required is likely to impede Plaintiffs' non-obstructive newsgathering\" and that \"the Act has a chilling effect on Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights.\" The plaintiffs included journalists and civil rights observers. Louisiana was reported to be appealing the order.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-federal-judge-blocks-louisiana-buffer-law" }, { "slug": "2025-white-house-bars-ap-gulf-of-america", "title": "United States: White House exclusion of the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One, February 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-02-11", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "AP's continued use of the name \"Gulf of Mexico\" after an executive order of the president of the United States renamed the body of water the \"Gulf of America\" for federal purposes.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2025-07-22", "outcome_note": "The D.C. Circuit's partial stay of 2025-06-06 keeps AP out of the Oval Office, Air Force One, Mar-a-Lago and the Cabinet Room and admits it to the East Room; the full court denied rehearing en banc on 2025-07-22. The appeal is pending.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 1, "summary": "On February 16, 2025, the White House, the office of the president of the United States, began barring journalists from the Associated Press (AP), a United States news agency, from the Oval Office and Air Force One, the aircraft that carries the president. The exclusion followed AP's decision to keep using the name \"Gulf of Mexico\" after an executive order of the president, Donald Trump, renamed the body of water the \"Gulf of America\" for United States federal purposes. Trump told reporters, \"We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America,\" according to NPR. AP sued on February 21, 2025; as of 2026-09-22, a partial stay by a federal appeals court leaves AP excluded from the Oval Office and Air Force One.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-white-house-bars-ap-gulf-of-america" }, { "slug": "2025-whca-loses-control-of-press-pool", "title": "United States: White House takes over selection of the presidential press pool, February 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-02-25", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-09-22", "outcome_note": "The White House selects the pool as of 2026-09-22, according to the Associated Press (s104).", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On February 25, 2025, the White House announced that it would decide which journalists join the press pool, the small rotating group of reporters who cover the president of the United States in spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One and share what they gather with other outlets. The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), the organization of reporters who cover the president, said that for more than a century \"working journalists\" and \"not government officials\" had \"determined pool rotation procedures.\" As of 2026-09-22, the White House selects the pool, according to the Associated Press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-whca-loses-control-of-press-pool" }, { "slug": "2025-pentagon-issues-new-press-credentialing-rules", "title": "United States: Department of Defense press credential rules requiring approval before release of information, September 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-09-19", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2026-04-09", "outcome_note": "Judge Paul Friedman ruled against the credential-revocation provisions on 2026-03-20 and against the revised policy on 2026-04-09; the Department of Defense appealed.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On September 21, 2025, the United States Department of Defense, the federal department that provides the country's military forces, issued new credential rules for reporters at the Pentagon, its headquarters building, under the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. The rules require that information be approved for public release by an authorizing official \"before it is released, even if it is unclassified,\" and require accredited reporters to pledge not to solicit or publish such information without approval or lose their badges. The Pentagon called the rules \"an important step in preventing leaks that damage operational security and national security.\" A federal judge ruled against the rules in March and April 2026, and the department has appealed (as of 2026-09-22).", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pentagon-issues-new-press-credentialing-rules" }, { "slug": "2025-pentagon-press-corps-forfeits-badges", "title": "United States: News organizations turn in their Pentagon press credentials, October 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-10-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2026-04-09", "outcome_note": "Credentials were ordered restored for seven New York Times journalists on 2026-03-20; the ruling against the revised policy on 2026-04-09 is on appeal. Most other outlets remain outside the building.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Beginning on October 15, 2025, reporters from at least 30 news organizations vacated the press workspace at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, rather than sign the department's new credential pledge, with a deadline of October 17 to remove their belongings. They included ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and Politico. One America News Network said it would sign. As of 2026-09-22, most of these outlets cover the Pentagon from outside the building.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pentagon-press-corps-forfeits-badges" } ], "2026": [ { "slug": "2026-white-house-bans-cnn-msnow-politico", "title": "United States: White House hard-pass deactivations for CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters, September 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-09-18", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2026-09-21", "outcome_note": "Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump (D.D.C. No. 1:26-cv-03287) was filed on 2026-09-21 and is pending; a hearing is scheduled for 2026-09-23.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 2, "summary": "On September 18, 2026, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Truth Social, a social media platform, and in the Oval Office that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from the White House, the president's office and residence in Washington, D.C. He described the outlets' coverage as \"FICTION and LIES.\" On September 19, 2026, the outlets' reporters were denied entry at the White House gates after their hard passes, the standing credentials that let reporters enter the White House press area without applying each day, were deactivated. The outlets sued on September 21, 2026, and the case is pending as of 2026-09-22.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-white-house-bans-cnn-msnow-politico" } ] } }, { "country": "IL", "country_name": "Israel", "count": 1, "by_year": { "2026": [ { "slug": "2026-israel-maintains-ban-on-foreign-press-access-to-gaza", "title": "Israel: ban on independent entry of foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip, 2023 to 2026", "occurred_on": "2026-01-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IL", "country_name": "Israel", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": null, "leader_name": null, "issue_of_the_day": "The war in Gaza, which began in October 2023.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2026-02-25", "outcome_note": "In effect as of CPJ's report of 2026-02-25; the government asked Israel's Supreme Court in January 2026 to keep the ban.", "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, the government of Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt, independently; foreign correspondents have entered only on trips escorted by the Israeli military. On January 7, 2026, Al Jazeera reported that the Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists from international news organizations, had condemned the government's decision to keep the ban. The government had told Israel's Supreme Court that the ban should be maintained due to \"security reasons,\" according to Al Jazeera. On February 25, 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the ban was still in place.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-israel-maintains-ban-on-foreign-press-access-to-gaza" } ] } } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/access_ban?format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/access_ban.json", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/access_ban.md" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }