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.
Featured Items
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Citizen Lab Q and A: The abuses of NSO Group’s hacking software and the threats to journalists
Citizen Lab Senior Researcher John Scott-Railton on the abuses of NSO Group’s hacking software and the threats it poses to journalists
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Spyware vendor defends hacking journalists, continues to embolden abusive governments
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.
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Daniel Ellsberg responds to the unjust jailing of whistleblower Chelsea Manning
Chelsea Manning is standing up for press freedom by refusing to comply with the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.
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Another ‘ag-gag’ law struck down as a First Amendment violation, yet several states still have them in place
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 …
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Good riddance to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, enemy of press freedom
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."
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FBI whistleblower Terry Albury sentenced to four years in prison for sharing information with journalists
FBI whistleblower Terry Albury has been sentenced to four years in prison for leaking information of huge public interest value to the press.
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Trump administration continues its crackdown on journalistic sources, charges fifth person in less than two years
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
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One year on, the push for change since the murder of Malta's most famous investigative journalist
Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered on October 16, 2017. Her death has divided Malta and shaken governmental and journalistic institutions to their core. The year since has functioned as a national reckoning, a questioning, and a movement.
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Support FBI whistleblower Terry Albury, who is set to be sentenced next week
The documents whistleblower Terry Albury is assumed to have shared detail the FBI’s recruitment tactics, investigations of minorities, and how the agency monitors journalists. Next week, he'll be sentenced in federal court, and for his act of courage, he could face years in prison.
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Google should protect whistleblowers and increase transparency, not stifle it
Google should protect whistleblowers who to the press, and immediately address the concerns that its employees have raised about the company’s complicity in a project that could expand China’s censorship and damage press freedom.
