Cite as: 532 U. S. 514 (2001)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
S. Rep. No. 1097, at 93 ("The disclosure of the contents of an intercepted communication that had already become 'public information' or 'common knowledge' would not be prohibited"). These laws thus do not fall under the axiom that "the interests in privacy fade when the information involved already appears on the public record." Cox Broadcasting, supra, at 494-495.
Third, these cases were concerned with "the 'timidity and self-censorship' which may result from allowing the media to be punished for publishing certain truthful information." Florida Star, 491 U. S., at 535. But fear of "timidity and self-censorship" is a basis for upholding, not striking down, these antidisclosure provisions: They allow private conversations to transpire without inhibition. And unlike the statute at issue in Florida Star, which had no scienter requirement, see id., at 539, these statutes only address those who knowingly disclose an illegally intercepted conversation.4 They do not impose a duty to inquire into the source of the information and one could negligently disclose the contents of an illegally intercepted communication without liability.
In sum, it is obvious that the Daily Mail cases upon which the Court relies do not address the question presented here. Our decisions themselves made this clear: "The Daily Mail principle does not settle the issue whether, in cases where information has been acquired unlawfully by a newspaper or by a source, government may ever punish not only the unlawful acquisition, but the ensuing publication as well." Florida Star, supra, at 535, n. 8; see also Daily Mail, 443 U. S., at 105 ("Our holding in this case is narrow. There is no issue before us of unlawful press [conduct]"); Landmark
4 In 1986, to ensure that only the most culpable could face liability for disclosure, Congress increased the scienter requirement from "willful" to "intentional." 18 U. S. C. § 2511(1)(c); see also S. Rep. No. 99-541, p. 6 (1986) ("In order to underscore that the inadvertent reception of a protected communication is not a crime, the subcommittee changed the state of mind requirement under [Title III] from 'willful' to 'intentional' ").
547
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