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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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Security, Secrecy and the Democratic Demands of an Informed Public
The American experiment is premised on the idea that an informed public is central to self-governance and a functioning democracy. But today, that fundamental idea is being challenged, at times by the very people – journalists and the media – who should be its staunchest defenders. In a new post …
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New York Times Dangerously Ignores Its Own Words In Calling For Extradition of Edward Snowden
In a move that should be worrying for all whistleblowers, the New York Times editorial board has essentially called for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to be extradited from Russia, saying that he had no rightful claim to asylum.
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Why Was the Military Trying to Intimidate Journalists at Bradley Manning Trial Yesterday?
Yesterday, closing arguments began in the trial of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. But even as the prosecution's arguments in the courtroom may have an enormous impact on journalism, another disturbing issue of press freedom was unfolding in the media center: reporters covering the trial were being intimidated by members …
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Court Guts Reporter's Privilege in One of the Most Significant Press Freedom Cases in Decades
Often forgotten amidst journalists’ public personas and front page scoops is the crux of their profession: the practice of gathering news. Reporting, at its best, consists of bringing to light information powerful factions want kept in the dark, and the sources for these stories are often people whose careers, or …
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Media Continues to Focus on Snowden Rather Than the Information He's Revealed
The above words, from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, are revealing: They tell us about a man completely aware of the gravity of his choices, and of the implications of the information he leaked. They tell us that Snowden—fully aware of the media circus that surrounded the personalities, rather than the …
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A Review of the Justice Dept’s New Guidelines For Leak Investigations Involving the Press
In response to widespread outrage over the Justice Department’s sprawling leak investigations that engulfed reporters from the Associated Press and Fox News two months ago, Attorney General Eric Holder released long-awaited updates to its guidelines for investigations involving news media. (Ironically, they were leaked to the media before being officially …
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Encryption Works: How to Protect Your Privacy (And Your Sources) in the Age of NSA Surveillance
The stories of how NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden first contacted journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras (both Freedom of the Press Foundation board members), and how he communicated with the Washington Post's Barton Gellman, have given the public a rare window into digital security and conversing online in the age …
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Guantanamo Prisoners Ask Judge to Stop Force-Feeding So They Can Observe Ramadan
Lawyers for four hunger-striking Guantanamo prisoners filed a motion Sunday in federal court in Washington, DC, asking a judge to intervene and stop prison officials from force-feeding the men and administering medications associated with the procedure without their consent. The prisoners, Shaker Aamer, the last British resident detained at Guantanamo, …
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Who is Leaking More: Edward Snowden or the Government Officials Condemning Him?
In the month since the Guardian first started reporting on the surveillance documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the government has taken to the media to condemn his leaks and insist he is flagrantly violating the law. To prove this, the government has been incessantly leaking information itself. Huffington …
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On David Gregory and Standing Up For Journalists' Constitutional Rights
UPDATE: New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin bizarrely claimed today that'd he "almost arrest" Greenwald as well. As usual, it's almost instantly clear that when journalist X says "prosecute journalist Y," journalist X can be prosecuted under the same or very similar theories. Meet the Press host David Gregory …