Pass the PRESS Act
The PRESS Act is the most important press freedom bill in modern history.
More on the IssueFeatured Issues
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Stop Arresting Journalists
Too often, police arrest journalists for doing their jobs. These arrests and prosecutions chill important reporting.
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Reform Government Secrecy
The U.S. classifies far too many secrets, obstructing democracy.
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Crackdown in the statehouse: Lawmakers edge out press access
In a growing number of state legislatures across the country, journalists are facing new rules and proposed legislation that breaks with traditions of public access to legislators. These moves are a troubling development in the increasingly rocky relationship between government officials and the press that covers them, and should be rolled back and opposed wherever possible.
Support the NSO Group whistleblower, and others like him
Journalists have been working incredibly hard to expose the spyware company and its authoritarian users. But let's not forget about the whistleblowers.
‘Concerns’ raised in NSA watchdog report, but still no meaningful oversight
Stop us if you've heard this one before: the NSA failed to follow procedural and policy requirements surrounding the use of surveillance data collected on U.S. persons, according to a new report from the group's Office of the Inspector General.
Biden’s Justice Dept. promised to support a strong journalist shield law. So why hasn’t it?
Sen. Ron Wyden calls the Justice Department’s inaction on key press freedom issue “extremely frustrating, and frankly unacceptable”
Victory on the horizon in the “Free PACER” fight
The fight to free PACER, the federally managed database of public court records that has sat behind a paywall since its inception, has stretched on for more than a decade now. These efforts may finally pay off in 2022 with a bill poised for the Senate floor that achieves many of the aims of the "free PACER" movement.
One of the Internet’s most impactful protests, a decade later
Ten years ago, a powerful online activism campaign against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act stopped the bill in its tracks, much to the surprise of the lobbyists and legislators who had considered its passage inevitable. Led by grassroots organizers and civil liberties groups, sites big and small “went dark” for the day in a “blackout” designed to draw attention to the issue and direct calls to Washington.
Another record year for press-freedom violations in the US
While we did not see the scope of national social-justice protests of 2020—a year in which journalists were arrested or assaulted on average more than once a day—2021 still outpaced the years before it for press-freedom violations. We systematically capture this data in the US Press Freedom Tracker, where Freedom of the Press Foundation, in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists and other press freedom groups, has documented aggressions against journalists in the United States since 2017.
More than 60 journalists have sued police after protest arrests or assaults
More than 60 journalists have sued police after arrests or assaults at protests, according to new analysis from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. That total amounts to 82% of the lawsuits filed by journalist or media outlet plaintiffs against public officials.
Investigate Customs and Border Protection for illicit investigations of journalists
New reporting into a government operation codenamed "Operation Whistle Pig" describes a shocking level of invasion into the personal and private lives of journalists. In blockbuster reporting, Yahoo News describes the actions of the Counter Network Division, a secretive unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that works with law enforcement and the intelligence community.
Assange to face extradition from United Kingdom: Freedom of the Press Foundation responds
A UK appeals court has allowed the United States to proceed in its extradition of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, overturning an earlier ruling that denied prosecutorial efforts based on the inhumane conditions of the American prison system.
