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TikTok influencer in Montana after the ban was issued - AP23187638051023

AP Photo/Tommy Martino

Efforts to undermine First Amendment rights on the internet and to censor online content are a fundamental threat to the free press.

When lawmakers try to censor online speech or entire platforms, it harms the First Amendment rights on which journalists rely.

Most people get their news online, and the internet and social media are especially important for independent and citizen journalists who publish there. Anyone who cares about press freedom should also oppose attempts to undermine free speech online.

Email Congress to stop online censorship bills

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Edit this message so that it is unique to you: Dear Member of Congress, As your constituent, I urge you to VOTE NO on any bills that give the government power to censor online content, especially the Kids Online Safety Act, and on any bills mandating or pressuring app stores, apps, and websites to use age verification. While these bills claim to protect children, they would instead enable government censorship, restricting access to information for both kids and adults. Age verification requirements will result in online ID checks that force children and adults to share sensitive personal information, undermining online privacy and anonymous speech. As a supporter of a free press, I’m especially concerned these measures could silence news and whistleblowers by encouraging the removal of news content online and making anonymous posting harder. In addition, these measures risk making it harder for journalists and news outlets to reach audiences by undermining smaller, newer platforms on which journalists share their work. Because smaller and newer platforms will be less likely to be able to afford to comply with KOSA and other bills’ requirements, these bills will consolidate the power of larger social media platforms that often do not prioritize the sharing of news. Please stand up for free expression and a free press by voting NO on KOSA and similar bills. URLs are not allowed in this message.

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Featured Items

In its quest to censor war reporting, the Russian government has dismantled all semblance of press freedom
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Journalists at independent news outlets in Russia have been arrested, raided, censored, and forced to flee in the past week.

Published March 8, 2022 Trevor Timm
Undead EARN IT Act poses newly urgent threat to press freedom
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After public backlash led to a major defeat in 2020, lawmakers are now attempting to rush the anti-privacy legislation through the Senate.

Published Feb. 8, 2022 Parker Higgins
One of the Internet’s most impactful protests, a decade later
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Ten years ago, a powerful online activism campaign against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act stopped the bill in its tracks, much to the surprise of the lobbyists and legislators who had considered its passage inevitable. Led by grassroots organizers and civil liberties groups, sites big and small “went dark” for the day in a “blackout” designed to draw attention to the issue and direct calls to Washington.

Published Jan. 20, 2022 Parker Higgins
PayPal and Venmo enforcement procedures threaten First Amendment protected speech
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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.

Published June 15, 2021 Parker Higgins
When algorithms come for journalists
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Journalists — especially those without institutional newsroom support — rely on tools from major tech companies like Google and YouTube for newsgathering, production and distribution as a matter of course. As these information giants publicly wrestle with controversial content moderation decisions that dominate headlines and Congressional hearings, their decisions also run the risk of stifling routine reporting.

Published Feb. 19, 2021 Parker Higgins
Music industry forces widely used journalist tool offline
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The popular free software project “youtube-dl” was removed from Github on Friday following a legal notice from the Recording Industry Association of America claiming it violates copyright law. The tool is widely used by journalists for various reporting purposes.

Published Oct. 26, 2020 Parker Higgins
Onions on the side: Tracking Tor availability for reader privacy on major news sites
Encryption•Article
“Onion services,” a technology offered by Tor to ensure users can securely and privately visit particular websites, can provide a major step forward for readers who rely on the Tor network for its privacy and censorship-resistance properties.

Published Oct. 6, 2020 Dr. Jennifer Helsby Parker Higgins
Trump, in crisis mode, tweets his 2000th attack on the press
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend daily life, President Donald Trump accelerated smearing the press on Twitter, reaching 2,000 negative tweets about the media in a string of insults and accusations on April 11, 2020.According to our analysis of more than 19,400 of Trump’s tweets, 2,000 means that …

Published April 13, 2020 Stephanie Sugars Kirstin McCudden
Back on the campaign trail, President Trump increases his anti-press tweet offensive
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From Jan. 20, 2019 to Jan. 19, 2020, Trump tweeted negatively about the media 548 times — almost as many as his first two years in office combined.

Published Jan. 20, 2020 Stephanie Sugars
Google should protect whistleblowers and increase transparency, not stifle it
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Google should protect whistleblowers who to the press, and immediately address the concerns that its employees have raised about the company’s complicity in a project that could expand China’s censorship and damage press freedom.

Published Sept. 10, 2018 Camille Fassett