Snowden anniversary a reminder of the need to protect whistleblowers and journalists
AP Photo/George Brich
Whistleblowers are essential to a free and unfettered press.
Whistleblowers play a critical role in informing the public and holding the government to account.
Sources who act out of conscience to leak information to the press further our democracy. Whistleblowers like Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden, have exposed some of our government’s gravest abuses.
Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often prosecuted and jailed. That’s wrong. Whistleblowers and the journalists they work with should be celebrated, not punished.
Stop the deportation of Heng Guan
Asylum-seeker who exposed Chinese abuses must remain in U.S.
-
Write a letter to lawmakers to stop the deportation of Heng Guan
Tell lawmakers to stop the Trump administration from deporting the man who helped journalists expose the horrors of Uyghur camps in Xinjiang, China. His life could be at risk.
Featured Items
-
This Week in Transparency: Runaway Classification and Bill Nye the Science Guy
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Runaway classification: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) and Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) introduced a bill to reign in classification, the Washington Post reports: "The measure would request …
-
Don't Cheer Obama's 'Ban' on Torture
I have a question for all the well-meaning people who praise President Obama for “banning” torture: Would you also find it helpful for the president to ban kidnapping? Child abuse? Mail fraud? Maybe you would. After all, no one likes kidnapping, child abuse, or mail fraud. Maybe it would be …
-
Help Keep Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist James Risen Out of Jail
One of the biggest battles over U.S. press freedom in decades is now about to come to a head, and we need your help. Sign this petition to help keep journalist James Risen out of jail. James Risen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times who exposed the …
-
How the Tor Traffic Confirmation Attack Affects SecureDrop Users
On Wednesday morning, the Tor Project published a security advisory detailing an attack against the Tor network that appears to have been trying to deanonymize users. SecureDrop, our open-source whistleblower submission system, is heavily reliant on Tor and uses the anonymity network to facilitate communication between whistleblowers, journalists, and …
-
News Organizations Routinely Expose Journalists Through Hostnames and IP Addresses
Journalists doing investigations online are often unknowingly giving away their identity to the very people they’re investigating. And the issue illustrates why journalists should regularly be using the Tor Browser or a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when working on any story—whether it's about national security or not. Every internet connection …
-
Lethal Injection Secrecy, Private Prison Project, and More
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Lethal Injection Secrecy: Over at Pacific Standard, the always-readable Ted Scheinman discusses the veil of secrecy surrounding the drug cocktails being used in lethal injections. As I've …
-
How the Recent Tails Operating System Vulnerability Affects Journalists and SecureDrop
On Wednesday afternoon, vulnerability and exploit research firm Exodus Intelligence disclosed a security vulnerability that would allow an attacker to deanonymize a user of Tails, the operating system that many journalists rely on to communicate securely with sources and that we have written about before. Tails is also integral …
-
Cass Sunstein and the Status Quo
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Cass Sunstein: Three cheers for the status quo Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein has an op-ed in Bloomberg View arguing against the FOIA reform bill introduced recently by …
-
It's Time to End the Justice Dept's Criminal Investigation Into WikiLeaks
Freedom of the Press Foundation, along with dozens of other press freedom and human rights organizations, are calling upon the U.S. Justice Department today to officially close the criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and its editor-in-chief Julian Assange for publishing information in the public interest. (See the full letter to Attorney …
-
POGO Launches SecureDrop Amidst Subpoena Controversy Over VA Whistleblower Records
Today, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), the respected DC-based government watchdog organization, launched its own version of SecureDrop, our open-source whistleblower submission system. This installation takes on a special and urgent significance, as POGO has recently been subpoenaed for information on whistleblowers that have contacted them about the …
Something went wrong and your email updates subscription could not be processed. Please visit our signup page and try again.
Thank you for urging your lawmakers to stand up for press freedom and human rights.
Share this message on social media: