Authoritarianism meets unfair competition
Plus: State Department must release Öztürk memo
FPF proves the administration is lying about leaks
Reporter’s Privilege•NewsletterPlus: Attacks on law firms and nonprofits endanger the press
100 days, 100 attacks on the press
Trump•NewsletterPlus: DOJ repeals protections for journalist-source confidentiality
Release secret memos on op-ed writer abduction
Trump•NewsletterPlus: Journalist targeted by Trump 1.0 discusses threats from Trump 2.0
Acknowledging important local journalism
Incarcerated Journalists•NewsletterDear Friend of Press Freedom,Here are this week’s top press freedom stories, plus updates on our work at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF).A series to spotlight public-records-based local journalismA major reason why politicians are able to attack the press without much resistance is that the public …
No secret deportation hearings
Court access•NewsletterPlus: Attacks on legal services are attacks on the press
Local news fights press threats
Arrests/Prosecutions•NewsletterPlus: When the First Amendment fails, try the Fifth
Public records are for the public
Media Funding•NewsletterPlus: Catch us on NPR while you still can
Florida wants journalists to self-censor
SLAPPs•NewsletterPlus: Indiana authorities must drop charges against photojournalist
Don’t break Texas anti-SLAPP law
SLAPPs•NewsletterPlus: Will Democrats make it so expensive to run a social media platform that only those loyal to Trump can stay in business?
Press pool takeover drowns First Amendment
Trump•NewsletterPlus: Why Senate must not confirm Ed Martin
Judge issues inexcuseable censorship order
Prior Restraint•NewsletterPlus: Trump hides migrant detention away at Gitmo
First Amendment law legend: ‘Fight back’
Trump•NewsletterPlus: Hypocrisy as deep as the Gulf of Mexico
Prosecutor puts DOGE ahead of First Amendment
Trump•NewsletterPlus: Judges must stop facilitating Trump’s extortionate settlements
A dangerous time to attack whistleblowers
Whistleblowers•NewsletterPlus: A perfect setup to criminalize reporting of corporate secrets
Why covering the prison system matters
TikTok•NewsletterPlus: No, TikTok is not regulated like the radio
Did Gabbard respond to FPF FOIA release by firing officials, scrubbing website?
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: No, the $400 million jet isn’t going to a library. It’s going to a private foundation.
Why Trump’s decision to crack down on journalists prompted FPF FOIA win
FOIA•NewsletterPlus more of this week’s most important secrecy news.
Government says 94% of FOIA requests released, in surprise to requesters
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: White House move threatens world’s largest transparency project
E. coli secrecy places corporate interests over public health
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: RFK Jr. says “We’re going to try to get as close as we can to total transparency.”
If Congress wants robust oversight powers, it must defend FOIA
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: Excessive government secrecy might be bad for your investment portfolio
Here’s how the firing of FOIA officials could hurt the DOGE audit
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: Tulsi Gabbard wants to declassify information that “serves the public interest.” But who is determining what’s in the public interest?
RFK Jr. promises radical transparency, then closes FOIA shops
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: Which FOIA offices might be closed next
The Signalgate problem nobody is talking about
Secrecy•NewsletterThe White House isn’t complying with the Presidential Records Act (again)
Was chaotic JFK declassification marred by National Archives firings?
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Wired drops FOIA reporting paywall. Will other media outlets follow?
It’s Marco Rubio’s party, and he’ll burn documents if he wants to
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: A judge ruled DOGE is likely subject to FOIA. But that doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to see its records.
USAID keeping reports secret out of fear of Trump retaliation
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: The government’s excuse for keeping a climate report hidden is easily disproved
Capricious government secrecy could threaten crop production
FOIA•NewsletterPlus: Trump administration attacks the advisory committees that keep the government honest
What’s the status of JFK declassification efforts?
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Don’t be mad DOGE posted classified budget information. Intelligence agencies’ budgets should be public
New declassification task force may be more bark than bite
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Why the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety reports should be public
Here’s how you can help save government data
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Why should the public have to wait until 2034 to file FOIA requests with DOGE?
My Groundhog Day prediction: More secrecy
Secrecy•NewsletterDisappearing government data, transparency double-standards — another busy week tracking government secrecy
Health agencies silenced, DOGE transparency in doubt, and more
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: President Trump’s first week back in office was a busy one, with many orders worsening government secrecy
Government secrecy issues to watch during Trump’s presidency
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Will Trump keep trying to flush presidential records down the toilet?
Will DOGE be subject to transparency rules?
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Be skeptical when government says the sky is falling anytime classified documents enter public domain
Join live FPF-New Yorker discussion on Haditha massacre reporting
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: Trump may fire the archivist. She can still fight secrecy
Signal blocks Microsoft Recall from recalling
Communication security•NewsletterSignal is making it harder for your private messages to get pulled into Microsoft’s new Recall AI feature
Telegram’s growing mountain of data requests
Expert analysis•NewsletterTelegram’s transparency reporting bot suggests their compliance with data requests from authorities has exploded between 2024 and 2025.
NSO Group fined in WhatsApp suit
Malware•NewsletterThe lawsuit also reveals more about how NSO Group executed its attacks on WhatsApp users, including journalists.
More Signalgate than we can tolerate
Communication security•NewsletterLook, neither one of us wants this. But we’re going to have to keep talking about how defense officials are using Signal in unusual ways
Chrome concedes third-party cookie fight
Expert analysis•NewsletterThird-party cookie ad tracking in Chrome is here to stay. If you’re sticking with Chrome, let’s talk about some safer settings.
Signalgate: The saga continues
Communication security•NewsletterThe Signalgate saga continues. This time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent operational Yemen missile strike details to his wife and brother. Fortunately you can learn from Hegseth’s mistakes.
Tariffs and security updates
Device safety•NewsletterIf you’re like me, you’re thinking about whether to buy electronics ahead of potential tariffs, and how long those devices will receive updates
Siding with Apple, court rejects UK’s secrecy request
File security•NewsletterA transparency win in a case concerning backdoor requests to Apple
Move over Signalgate, let’s talk Venmogate
NewsletterFriends don’t let friends show the national security adviser is on their Venmo contact list
Security lessons from a Signal group chat
Communication security•NewsletterThe editor-in-chief of The Atlantic is added to a Signal group chat discussing national security information — presumably by accident
Ad CEO boasts about data broker capabilities
NewsletterIf our digital security trainer were in charge of data broker services, he might keep his cards closer to the vest. But that’s just him
Dropping malicious browser extensions
Account security•NewsletterBrowser extensions are powerful, but not all are trustworthy. Here’s how to scale back to the ones you trust
Google’s personal data removal updates
NewsletterGoogle updates its “Results about you” tool to help users remove unwanted or outdated information about themselves
Apple pulls encrypted iCloud from the U.K.
NewsletterAfter government demands for global access to Apple’s end-to-end encrypted iCloud, the company disables the feature regionally
X temporarily blocks Signal links
NewsletterWhile X might be able to block links, it will have a tougher time blocking Signal usernames
U.K. officials demand iCloud backdoor
NewsletterThe “snoopers’ charter” order for access to end-to-end encrypted iCloud accounts applies globally
Signal allows synching with new devices
Communication security•NewsletterEver linked a new device to your Signal account, only to find you didn’t get your old messages? No longer!
Trump cuts DHS board probing Chinese attacks
NewsletterIn one of his first moves as president, Trump disbands cybersecurity board tasked with investigating Chinese attacks on U.S. telecoms
Security risk assessment as a mental health tool
Expert analysis•NewsletterLet’s talk about protecting your well-being by prioritizing what security risks you want to address.
Media organizations are locking down
Communication security•NewsletterThe New York Times reports media organizations are locking down their communications amid threats to the press.
J-school security curriculum: Content updates!
Announcements•NewsletterCheck out the latest updates to our digital security 101, authentication, and malware modules.
J-school security curriculum: ‘Digital security 101’ updates
Announcements•NewsletterWe’ve made updates to our “Digital security 101” module, and more.
J-school security curriculum: New resource pack!
Announcements•NewsletterCheck out the new resource pack for our “Digital security 101 — Crossing the US-Mexico border” module.
J-school security curriculum: Reviewed and refreshed!
Announcements•NewsletterOn the heels of our new module focused on U.S. southern border journalism, we are happy to announce a range of additional updates to modernize the rest of the J-school curriculum.
J-school security curriculum: New module!
Announcements•NewsletterWe’re thrilled to announce a new module focused on U.S. southern border journalism
J-school security curriculum: DeepSeek leak and more ‘fun’ news
NewsletterWell, at least there’s a lot of stuff to talk to your class about
J-school security curriculum: Into the Dangerzone
NewsletterWe’ve added new slides to our Malware module to help instructors get started sharing the good word about Dangerzone.
J-School Digital Security Curriculum: September Update
NewsletterHello again!It’s Martin, principal researcher at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with our regular update on the U.S. Journalism School Digital Security Curriculum.J-school security curriculum highlightsTo account for new username and privacy options in recent versions of Signal, we made some small changes to the …
J-School Digital Security Curriculum: July Update
NewsletterHello again!It’s Martin, principal researcher at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with our regular update on the U.S. Journalism School Digital Security Curriculum.Before we jump in, I want to share that we’re hiring a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) consultant to help us develop a …
