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Threats to press freedom are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and sources everywhere.

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    Reed Dunlea arrest courtesy Stephanie Keith

    Stop arresting journalists

    Arrests/Prosecutions•Newsletter

    Just a few months into 2024, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented four arrests or detentions of journalists covering protests in New York, Tennessee, and California. These arrests violate journalists’ rights, and they undermine the right of the public to learn about newsworthy events happening in their communities. They also show the disturbing and stubborn persistence of a system of policing that either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about First Amendment rights.

    April 5, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    assange_2.original (1)

    UK grants Assange another hearing

    Newsletter

    On Tuesday, the High Court in London granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange another hearing on his extradition to the United States, averting — at least temporarily — a press freedom catastrophe. While we’re glad that Assange isn’t being immediately extradited, the threat to journalists from the Espionage Act charges against him remains.

    March 29, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

    ‘National security’ claims don’t trump First Amendment

    Newsletter

    Most analyses of Monday’s Supreme Court argument in Murthy v. Missouri, the case about government pressure on social media content moderation, agree that the justices are likely to rule that the government can influence platforms’ moderation decisions. But when it comes to alleged threats to “national security,” some justices seemed willing to let the government go even further by coercing — or even requiring — takedowns.

    March 22, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    San José Spotlight City Hall reporter Jana Kadah conducts a phone interview

    The public pays for records lawsuits

    Newsletter

    Public records and freedom of information laws are fundamental for government transparency. But when journalists fight for access to wrongfully withheld records at the state and local level, the public is paying the price, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Over the past year alone, local governments have paid journalists at least $1.6 million in attorneys fees — all of which was financed by taxpayers — following public records lawsuits.

    March 15, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Reed Dunlea arrest courtesy Stephanie Keith

    NYPD must stop arresting journalists

    Newsletter

    Earlier this month, NYPD officers violently tackled journalist Reed Dunlea and arrested him while he attempted to cover a pro-Palestinian protest for his podcast. In a letter to the Brooklyn District Attorney calling for the charges to be dropped, FPF wrote that "arresting reporters is a crude form of censorship." Read more in our newsletter.

    Feb. 29, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Photo courtesy of Tim Burke

    Indictment threatens digital journalism

    Newsletter

    The disturbing indictment against journalist Tim Burke reportedly arises in part from Burke’s dissemination of outtakes from a 2022 Tucker Carlson interview with Ye. Federal prosecutors accuse Burke of “scouring” the internet for news and failing to obtain express authorization before accessing information posted on public websites. Requiring journalists to get permission to report news is, obviously, problematic. Read more in our newsletter.

    Feb. 23, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Assange_credit Londres (Reino Unido), 18 de Agosto 2014

    Help save the First Amendment

    Newsletter

    The High Court in London is hearing arguments this week on whether to extradite Julian Assange to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act for obtaining and publishing secret documents from a source — also known as journalism. We’re doing everything we can to urge the Department of Justice to drop the Espionage Act charges against Assange ahead of his potential extradition. You can help.

    Feb. 22, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    KAM Junk Draft Assange--text only

    Assange case threatens journalism

    Newsletter

    Next week, the High Court in London will consider whether Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act for obtaining government secrets from a source and publishing them. Even if you don’t like Assange, or don’t think he’s a journalist, his case poses an existential threat to the First Amendment rights of the journalists you do like.

    Feb. 16, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Herridge Interview

    Bipartisan support for the PRESS Act

    Newsletter

    As unlikely as it sounds, Republicans and Democrats are putting their differences aside to support the most important press freedom legislation in modern times — the PRESS Act.

    Feb. 8, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    0e4dfff5-f0c3-9060-cdca-95ddd5969a20

    Harsh punishments for leakers hurt journalism

    Newsletter

    Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn received the maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment on Monday, after pleading guilty to leaking Donald Trump’s returns to The New York Times. Littlejohn also leaked a tranche of ultrawealthy Americans’ tax documents to ProPublica. It’s sadly ironic that Littlejohn is being harshly punished for exposing billionaire tax evasion while billionaire tax evaders themselves continue to be afforded leniency by the judiciary.

    Feb. 2, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    James_Risen_Miller_Center

    FAQs about the PRESS Act

    Newsletter

    The PRESS Act -– which passed the House last week with no opposition — is the most important press freedom legislation in modern history. It would finally put an end to retaliatory surveillance of journalists who embarrass officials, as well as court orders requiring journalists to choose between burning their sources and risking jail time. As it heads to the Senate, we answer some of the common questions we’ve seen asked about the act. Topics range from the substance and scope of the bill to what you can do to help get it through the Senate.

    Jan. 26, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Kiley and Durbin

    PRESS Act passes the House

    Newsletter

    The House of Representatives passed the PRESS Act by unanimous consent on Jan. 18, 2024. The act is a bipartisan reporter’s shield bill that would protect journalists from being forced to name their sources in federal court and would stop the federal government from spying on journalists through their technology providers. It’s the strongest shield bill we’ve ever seen — and also the one with the best chance of becoming law. Now it’s up to the Senate to finish the job.

    Jan. 19, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    A portion of the Nov. 30, 2023, court order attempting to censor BusinessDen reporter Justin Wingerter

    The case for ignoring censorship orders

    Newsletter

    Our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented 11 prior restraints against journalists in 2023, the most since it started tracking them in 2017. The Supreme Court has called prior restraints — or government orders not to publish information — the “most serious” First Amendment violation. They are almost never constitutional. And yet, courts keep entering prior restraints with little regard for the law, leaving journalists censored while often slow-moving appellate processes play out.

    Jan. 12, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
    Photo courtesy of Tim Burke

    Government must explain newsroom raid

    Newsletter

    It’s been more than seven months since the May 2023 FBI raid of Florida journalist Tim Burke’s home newsroom, after Burke found and publicized Fox News interview outtakes where rapper Ye made antisemitic remarks. Yet the government still hasn’t explained the basis for the raid or returned all of Burke’s seized equipment and information.

    Jan. 5, 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation
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    AP Photo/Patrick Semansky - AP25017026398513

    Government secrecy issues to watch during Trump’s presidency

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: Will Trump keep trying to flush presidential records down the toilet?

    Jan. 20, 2025 Lauren Harper
    Politico/Angelina Katsanis via AP Photo - AP24348739496877

    Will DOGE be subject to transparency rules?

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: Be skeptical when government says the sky is falling anytime classified documents enter public domain

    Jan. 19, 2025 Lauren Harper
    AP Photo/Hadi Mizban - AP120124145885

    Join live FPF-New Yorker discussion on Haditha massacre reporting

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: Trump may fire the archivist. She can still fight secrecy

    Jan. 12, 2025 Lauren Harper
    AP Photo/Dylan Brown - AP546304285255

    EPA has known for 20 years that it promotes toxic fertilizer

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: The CIA drugged unsuspecting Americans as part of its mind-control research programs.

    Jan. 5, 2025 Lauren Harper
    Screenshot 2024-12-18 at 2.33.09 PM

    Aliens, Gitmo, and the weather: Excessive secrecy affects everything

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: a look back at 2024

    Dec. 29, 2024 Lauren Harper
    AP Photo/Brennan Linsley - AP110308199253

    Gitmo, background checks, and drones: a busy week in secrecy news

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: U.S. government declassifies 1960 report stating Israeli nuclear site was for weapons

    Dec. 22, 2024 Lauren Harper
    AP Photo/Eugene Garcia - AP21160850045071

    National security claims hide information from families separated at border

    Secrecy•Newsletter

    Plus: how you can help preserve federal data at risk of being deleted

    Dec. 15, 2024 Lauren Harper
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    1712174489970

    Google to delete old Chrome Incognito data

    Newsletter

    Following a class-action lawsuit over Google’s handling of user data in its Chrome browser’s “Incognito” private browsing mode, the search company will expunge “billions of event-level data records that reflect class members’ private browsing activities” improperly collected before January 2024. It also updated its Incognito landing page to highlight that even Google can discern your activities in private browsing mode. Additionally, the company will be required to delete data that makes users’ private browsing data personally identifiable, such as IP addresses.

    April 4, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    ea0eaa31-e10d-25c7-1bae-513b73402919

    DOJ sues Apple, spotlighting iMessage

    Newsletter

    The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company engages in monopolistic practices over the smartphone market, preventing competitors by degrading the experience of communicating with non-Apple users in its products. iMessage features prominently in the suit, with the DOJ alleging consumers are disincentivized to leave its “walled garden” and so miss out on unique features built into the iMessage protocol, including end-to-end encryption between Apple users.

    March 28, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    6a1f6956-4ea1-3eaa-5ea2-8ea7511dd772

    Controversy over Mozilla’s anti-data broker service

    Newsletter

    We recently shared news of Mozilla’s partnership with data removal service Onerep. Through a service it calls Mozilla Monitor Plus, Onerep is designed to automatically scan for personal information on data broker websites. But journalist Brian Krebs has found evidence that the founder of Onerep, purveyor of anti-data broker services, himself created dozens of data broker services. Read more.

    March 20, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    1710348021839

    WhatsApp now supports messages with third-parties

    Newsletter

    Under the new European Union law, the Digital Markets Act, Meta is required to allow interoperability between third-party chat software and its WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger apps. These tools offer end-to-end encryption using the Signal protocol, the strong encryption specifications pioneered by the Signal encrypted messaging app.

    March 14, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    Blue lattice behind three ornate keys_credit Electronic Frontier Foundation

    Post-quantum iMessage

    Newsletter

    Both in the U.S. and abroad, governments are capturing encrypted connections that pass over the public internet and saving them for later use. Within years or decades, post-quantum computers could meaningfully shorten the amount of time required to unscramble encryption, allowing attackers to read previously private messages. So a growing number of organizations, including Apple, are preparing for attacks like these with post-quantum encryption. Read more in our newsletter.

    March 7, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    A dumpster on fire with a pink background

    Avast caught selling browsing data

    Newsletter

    Aye hearties, gangway — the Avast cor-pirates are walking the plank. That’s because the company sold user data without consumers’ knowledge, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which ordered U.K.-based Avast Limited to pay $16.5 million and will also bar the antivirus company from selling or licensing browser data for advertisements. Read more in our newsletter.

    Feb. 28, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    Header image with a graphic of Signal's "speech bubble" logo, with a pattern of silhouettes of phones in the background.

    Signal usernames are here!

    Newsletter

    This week, security nerds are dancing in the streets because Signal, the encrypted messaging app, is finally rolling out usernames. Signal has previously required users to provide their phone number as an identifier, but with this most recent update, users may instead use a username. Read more in our newsletter.

    Feb. 22, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    animated shark fin on a computer screen_Credit EFF

    Mozilla breaks into the anti-data broker game

    Newsletter

    Hundreds of data brokers aggregate and sell access to personal data, such as phone numbers, emails, addresses, and even purchasing habits collected through loyalty card programs, social media sites, apps, trackers embedded in websites, and more. Mozilla has a new monthly subscription service which automatically scans for your personal data on data broker websites, but there are other ways to make your data less easily searchable. Read more from the Digital Security Team.

    Feb. 16, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    0b65923f-1f1c-261e-97fd-198a3ea364a4

    Moving from passwords to passkeys

    Newsletter

    Instead of traditional passwords, where you log into a website with credentials that you know or store in a manager, a passkey is a credential that you store on your device, registered with an online account. Read more in our newsletter.

    Feb. 15, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    Illustration by Freedom of the Press Foundation. (CC BY 4.0)

    Journalists targeted with Pegasus yet again

    Newsletter

    Mercenary spyware firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, designed to remotely access targeted smartphones, is marketed to governments around the world for the purposes of law enforcement and counterterrorism. But in the wild, we’ve seen governments repeatedly abuse this and similar spyware tools to infect journalists, spying on their most sensitive files, communications, and sources.

    Feb. 7, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    b5f4979b-2827-7e9e-7acd-96a3dcf47329

    Harden your iPhone against thieves

    Newsletter

    Thieves don’t just steal iPhones for the hardware — they may also want access to banking apps and Apple Pay to facilitate fraudulent transfers and purchases. One thing that works in thieves’ favor is that people often use short passwords that are easy to shoulder surf and to memorize — typically only six digits. To minimize this risk, instead of typing in passcodes, where possible and practical consider opting for Face ID or Touch ID when unlocking the phone in public spaces.

    Feb. 1, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    5e37a798-6ffe-4626-283a-8428985aa5ce

    Check if your account has been breached

    Newsletter

    If you have found your email in a data breach and the affected account is still active, you’re going to want to change the password for the relevant service right away.

    Jan. 23, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    23b31aa3-369f-5c8f-fdaf-4f010f1c90bf

    Learn from the social media breach at SEC

    Newsletter

    On Jan. 9, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was hijacked and used to post about the approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. This could have happened to anyone, whether an individual or a well-resourced organization. Learn how to mitigate similar attacks in this week's edition of our digital security digest

    Jan. 18, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    1ea10a62-ecb8-2bf4-9d51-a5dae0804be3

    2024 resolution: Get started with security keys

    Newsletter

    Two-factor authentication (2FA) is great because it helps harden your account security. The strongest 2FA option commonly available today depends on a piece of hardware, a security key — a little device you can plug into your USB port to help log in.

    Jan. 11, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    1704391473962

    Private browsing isn’t that private

    Newsletter

    On all major browsers, research suggests many users overestimate the privacy promises of private browsing mode, with many believing that it allows them to hide their IP address, encrypt their web traffic, browse anonymously, and more. That’s why you’ll want to read about what private browsing mode does and doesn’t do.

    Jan. 4, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
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    JschoolCurriculum

    J-school security curriculum: DeepSeek leak and more ‘fun’ news

    Newsletter

    Well, at least there’s a lot of stuff to talk to your class about

    Feb. 21, 2025 Dr. Martin Shelton
    FPF default cards (5)

    J-school security curriculum: Into the Dangerzone

    Newsletter

    We’ve added new slides to our Malware module to help instructors get started sharing the good word about Dangerzone.

    Nov. 25, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    FPF default cards (5)

    J-School Digital Security Curriculum: September Update

    Newsletter

    Hello 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 …

    Sept. 19, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
    FPF default cards (5)

    J-School Digital Security Curriculum: July Update

    Newsletter

    Hello 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 …

    July 29, 2024 Dr. Martin Shelton
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Monthly Analysis on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

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