The Trump administration is planning to restrict federal employees from leaking information to the media. The proposal requires them to sign a confidentiality agreement.

The Trump administration proposed on Tuesday to give federal agencies the option to require employees to sign confidentiality agreements to prevent them from disclosing classified information to reporters. This move has sparked criticism from press freedom advocacy groups. The US Office of Personnel Management released a draft confidentiality agreement for federal agencies to use in managing new or existing employees. According to the draft agreement, the government can hold employees accountable for civil and criminal liability for any violations. Each agency will decide on its own whether to require employees to sign the confidentiality agreement. This draft is the latest move by the President to strengthen control over US government employees and punish news organizations and media professionals whom he believes have been too critical. Since the start of Trump's second term, he and government officials have filed at least five lawsuits against several major media companies, claiming they have published fake news or misleading reports and seeking billions of dollars in damages. However, courts have mostly sided with the news organizations.