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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Investigate Customs and Border Protection for illicit investigations of journalists
New reporting into a government operation codenamed "Operation Whistle Pig" describes a shocking level of invasion into the personal and private lives of journalists. In blockbuster reporting, Yahoo News describes the actions of the Counter Network Division, a secretive unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that works with law enforcement and the intelligence community.
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Why the FBI raid of Project Veritas is concerning for press freedom
The FBI raid of James O'Keefe is a troubling development for press freedom. That the potential story was not a blockbuster public interest investigation, and that O’Keefe and Project Veritas have a long history of deception and manipulation, do not change that fact.
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After shocking story about CIA illegal acts, Biden admin must drop Assange charges immediately
A shocking investigation by Yahoo News shows the CIA contemplated kidnapping and assassination against the Wikileaks publisher.
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There’s no right time for Apple’s privacy-invading tech features
Apple announced Friday that it would postpone its planned roll-out of user device surveillance technology that had come under heavy fire from the privacy and civil liberties community. It should drop the plans entirely.
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Apple’s device surveillance plan is a threat to user privacy — and press freedom
The backlash from privacy and human rights advocates to Apple's new plan this month for scanning photos on user devices to detect known child sexual abuse images has been loud and nearly unanimous. The tech raises press freedom problems, too.
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Congress must pass the Justice Dept’s new media surveillance rules into law
New rules prohibiting the surveillance of journalists are the strongest in the modern history of the Department of Justice — and that’s a big victory for press freedom. But it’s important to note that this new policy could be undone by a future Department of Justice memo.
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PayPal and Venmo enforcement procedures threaten First Amendment protected speech
PayPal and its subsidiary Venmo must bring more transparency and accountability to its practices around account freezes and closures, argues a new letter signed by Freedom of the Press Foundation and nearly two dozen human rights and civil liberties groups.
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In a sea change for press freedom, Biden administration vows not to spy on reporters doing their job
The Biden admin, following the revelation of several scandals involving the DOJ spying on journalists, says it will end the practice.
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Surveillance of CNN reporter underscores urgency of Justice Department ban on journalist spying
The Trump administration's Department of Justice secretly obtained the phone and email records of a CNN journalist last year. Senator Wyden has called on the Biden admin to categorically bar the surveillance of journalists in order to root out their sources.
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Intimidation tactic: Police photograph faces, press passes of journalists covering protests
Law enforcement officers have photographed the faces or IDs of nearly three dozen journalists in Oregon and Minnesota in recent months, according to new data published by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. These measures don’t appear to serve any law enforcement purpose beyond intimidating reporters who are doing their job.
