The Protection of Journalistic Sources is one of the basic conditions for press freedom: without proper mechanisms at the national level, sources may be deterred from assisting the press in informing the public on matters of public interest, ultimately impeding the press from providing accurate and reliable information.
Recently, in a large number of cases, public authorities in Europe have forced, or attempted to force, journalists to disclose their sources. With this regard, the Council of Europe has found that violations are more frequent in member states without clear legislation.