Surveillance expansion threatens press freedom – and everyone else's
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Mass surveillance is widespread. Congress must rein in government spying powers.
In 2013, whistleblower and longtime Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) board member Edward Snowden’s stunning revelations of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency shocked the world. Since then, we’ve learned even more about the alarming scope of surveillance by the U.S. government.
Mass surveillance undermines everyone’s privacy, and it threatens press freedom by allowing the government to spy on communications between journalists and their sources.
Take Action
Tell Congress to Fix Section 702 of FISA.
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Call or Email Your Senator or Representative
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Call or email your senator or representative and urge them to fix Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A recent change to the law has vastly expanded the government’s spying powers.
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Write to Your Local Paper
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Help advance press freedom by writing newspaper op-eds or letters to the editor in support of fixing Section 702 of FISA.
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Featured Items
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Good riddance to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, enemy of press freedom
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Important new report sheds light on the US government’s border stops of journalists
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Support FBI whistleblower Terry Albury, who is set to be sentenced next week
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New documents reveal details of the FBI’s dangerous practice of impersonating journalists
Every time a government agent impersonates a journalist to conduct its own investigation, they are putting countless real journalists at risk. The FBI has engaged in the practice for years while keeping its policies a secret, but thanks to documents released as part of a FOIA lawsuit by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, we now know a little more.
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Revealed: The Justice Dept's secret rules for targeting journalists with FISA court orders
The Justice Dept has kept these FISA court rules for targeting journalists secret for years.
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Facebook’s terms of service obstruct important journalistic research
By prohibiting automated collection of information, Facebook's terms of service are obstructing important digital and investigative journalism. In a letter, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University asks Facebook to modify its terms of service.
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By targeting encrypted content, Australia threatens press freedom
The Australian government is considering legislation that would endanger source protection, confidential reporting processes, and the privacy of everyone in an ill-conceived effort to grant law enforcement easier access to electronic communications.Freedom of the Press Foundation has joined a group of digital rights organizations in calling for the Australian …
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Supreme Court rules police need a warrant for your cell phone location data
Law enforcement can no longer claim people have no right to privacy when using a cell phone, and must obtain a warrant to collect historical location data, the Supreme Court ruled today in the long-awaited Carpenter v. United States. This ruling marks a victory for the First and Fourth Amendments, and for journalism.
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Trump's Justice Dept escalates its disturbing crackdown on leaks by seizing New York Times reporter's phone and email records
The surveillance of reporters for doing their job is an affront to press freedom.
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How Snowden has changed journalism and privacy, five years later
Five years ago today, the first story based on the Snowden revelations exposing the NSA's mass surveillance regime was published. In the years that have followed, Snowden's disclosures have transformed the national and international conversation about privacy in our digital lives.
