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.
Featured Items
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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 …
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Chief Keith and the Revolving Door
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. Keith Alexander's financial disclosure is vital to national security interests or something Over at The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf has an excellent piece on Jason Leopold's FOIA …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Leaked Watchlist Guidelines Show How the Obama Admin Abuses the 'State Secrets' Privilege
The Intercept published a must-read story yesterday revealing the secret and incredibly vague rules the US government uses to place people on its terrorism watchlist. While the story covers many civil liberties problems associated with the unaccountable process, it also highlights an important topic that has gotten lost in recent …
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Why the Supreme Court Cell Phone Decision is a Win for Press Freedom
According to the Supreme Court, police need a warrant to search the cellphones of people they arrest. The unanimous decision, which was handed down this week, is being heralded as a major victory for privacy rights and a landmark case with implications far beyond cellphones. The New York Times reports …
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FOIA Friday: IRS 'Loses' Emails, Feds Cover-up Stingray Records, and More
This post is adapted from CJ Ciaramella's weekly Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. THE IRS IS BAD AT KEEPING RECORDS, WHICH IS NOT TERRIBLY UNUSUAL Late last Friday, the IRS informed Congress that it had lost a significant amount of emails …
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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 …
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Why Won’t Any Senators Pick Up Rep. Grayson’s Important Journalist Shield Bill?
Three weeks ago, Rep. Alan Grayson convinced the House to pass a bill that would go a long way to protect journalists from being subpoenaed for their sources, yet hardly anyone noticed. Attached to its annual appropriations bill, the House voted 225-183 to pass a simple provision that read …
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