{
  "slug": "prior_restraint",
  "name": "Prior restraint",
  "definition": "An order or rule that stops something from being published before it appears, rather than penalising it afterwards. Examples are boards that must approve articles, books or films before release, court injunctions against publication, and rules that require officials to review material before it is published.",
  "notes": null,
  "first_recorded_on": "2025-09-19",
  "incident_count": 1,
  "by_country": [
    {
      "country": "US",
      "country_name": "United States",
      "count": 1,
      "by_year": {
        "2025": [
          {
            "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"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint?format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint.json",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint.md"
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}