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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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Here's why you should go see Laura Poitras' new Snowden documentary 'Citizenfour'
Director Laura Poitras’ highly anticipated new documentary on Edward Snowden and the NSA, entitled Citizenfour, debuted at the New York Film Festival over the weekend. The film is an extraordinary look inside the mind and motivations of whistleblowers, and enthrallingly captures how the NSA disclosures transformed the world’s view …
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FOIA Rundown: Ferguson's ongoing stonewall, majority favors release of CIA torture report, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Ferguson's ongoing stonewall The AP's Jack Gillum reports that Ferguson officials are using the tried and true method of charging exorbitant fees to discourage news orgs and individuals …
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Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on the similarities between Vietnam and the war against ISIS
The following article by Barbara Koeppel was originally published at Consortiumnews.com. At a recent talk at the National Press Club in Washington DC, Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, says he believes there’s not one person in the Pentagon who would agree that President Obama can …
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This Week in Transparency: Holder's legacy, Stingrays, and more
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Holder resigns: You probably heard the news that Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation yesterday. Holder will leave behind a historic legacy on many issues, but unfortunately …
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Eric Holder was the worst Attorney General for the press in a generation. We deserve better.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced he would resign yesterday, after serving as the nation’s top law enforcement official since President Obama came into office in 2009. Holder will leave behind a complex and hotly debated legacy at the Justice Department on many issues, but one thing is clear: he …
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Dangerous Law In Australia Could Criminalize Basic Reporting and Gut Internet Freedom
Earlier today, the Australian Senate passed a sweeping new ‘anti-terror’ law that will allow the Australian government to conduct mass surveillance on all of its citizens, will make whistleblowing on intelligence issues a crime, and threatens to criminalize basic reporting. The bill is an enormous threat to press freedom, free …
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It’s Time for a Real Debate on Reader Privacy
Last week longtime local publisher Howard Owens, founder of the online news site the Batavian, launched a new publication covering Wyoming County in upstate New York. Buried in a parenthetical within his welcome message to readers was a fascinating promise: “We’ll also respect your privacy by not gathering personal data …
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Fifteen Months After the NSA Revelations, Why Aren’t More News Organizations Using HTTPS?
More than fifteen months after the NSA revelations laid bare the overwhelming scope of online surveillance and fueled the demand for privacy, virtually none of the top news websites—including all those who have reported on the Snowden documents—have adopted the most basic of security measures to protect the integrity of …
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When Can the FBI Use National Security Letters to Go After Journalists? That’s Classified
Two weeks ago, the DOJ Inspector General released a report on the FBI’s use of National Security Letters (NSLs)—the controversial (and unconstitutional) surveillance instruments used to gather personal information of Americans without any prior oversight from a judge. In a little-noticed passage buried in the report, the IG describes …
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This Week in Transparency: SWAT Secrecy and PACER Problems
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. SWAT Secrecy and Pentagon Hand-me-downs This week the ACLU issued a report on police militarization based on hundreds of public records requests to police departments across the country. …