The ruling references protections associated with the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, which limits government seizure of journalistic work materials when reporters are not targets of criminal activity.
Press freedom organizations praised the decision, saying it reinforces constitutional safeguards for source confidentiality. Some legal analysts believe the case could shape future standards governing law enforcement access to media data stored on digital platforms.
Government attorneys continue to maintain that national security interests justify limited investigative access. The court will now conduct a supervised examination of the seized materials to determine whether any evidence relevant to the leak investigation exists.
The dispute highlights the growing legal challenges surrounding journalism, digital privacy, and national security enforcement as reporting increasingly depends on electronic communication technologies.
