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.
The latest arrest and indictment of an alleged whistleblower should concern all journalists.
The ongoing detention of Chelsea Manning is inhumane and punitive, and she should be released immediately.
The Trump administration's indictment of Assange may criminalize many common journalistic practices.
Citizen Lab Senior Researcher John Scott-Railton on the abuses of NSO Group’s hacking software and the threats it poses to journalists
The founder of of spyware vendor NSO Group appeared to defend targeting journalists, activists, and human rights defenders with its malicious software Pegasus in an interview days ago with CBS.
Chelsea Manning is standing up for press freedom by refusing to comply with the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.
Despite a long history of journalists going undercover to investigate and shed light on secretive industries like the animal agriculture industry, several states have statutes—commonly known as ‘ag gag’ laws—that criminalize reporting on animal abuse at farms. Last Wednesday, a federal judge ruled Iowa’s such law unconstitutional on the grounds …
Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned yesterday, apparently at the request of President Donald Trump. During his two years in office, Sessions has used the power of the Justice Department to lead a crackdown on civil liberties and press freedom. As the ACLU remarked, Sessions “was the worst attorney general in modern American history."
FBI whistleblower Terry Albury has been sentenced to four years in prison for leaking information of huge public interest value to the press.
Freedom of the Press Foundation statement on the Justice Department's arrest and charges against Treasury Department employee Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards for allegedly sharing information with the press