Four more years … of government secrecy?
How secretive would a second Trump or a Harris administration be? And how much could either presidential candidate rein in the government’s sprawling secrecy system if they wanted to?
Meet our new website
Encryption•NewsletterThis week, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) unveiled a new website that reflects our commitment to action-based advocacy for press freedom.
New York Times pushes for PRESS Act
PRESS Act•NewsletterDear Friend of Press Freedom,Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here.New York Times pushes for …
Israel’s detainment of reporters must stop
Arrests/Prosecutions•NewsletterThe U.S. should not only demand its ally explain the arrest of an American journalist, but pressure it to release the 43 Palestinian journalists who remain in custody if it can’t prove they committed a crime.
Declassify Khashoggi records now
NewsletterToo much about Jamal Khashoggi's murder remains hidden, and this secrecy prevents accountability and serves to endanger other journalists.
US hides its best hurricane predictions
NewsletterWe’re in the middle of an especially dangerous hurricane season, but the government’s weather forecaster won’t release its most accurate predictions.
Declassify RT documents
NewsletterDeclassification would explain a move that raises serious First Amendment concerns about press censorship and questions of cherry picked evidence.
Declassify CIA torture report
NewsletterThe U.S. keeps too many secrets about its actions in the aftermath of 9/11.
Crunch time for the PRESS Act
NewsletterThe Senate is running out of time this year to pass the most important press freedom legislation in modern times.
New Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy
NewsletterAs the first Ellsberg Chair, Lauren Harper’s work will focus on highlighting and fighting the multitude of ways the government keeps secrets.
Chicago police ignore journalists’ rights
NewsletterThe Chicago Police Department repeatedly dispersed, arrested, and threatened journalists at protests during the first two days of the DNC.
Marion County Record raid, a year later
NewsletterLast week, special prosecutors cleared the Record’s reporters of wrongdoing, and this week, former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody was charged for obstructing the investigation of the raid.
Further accountability needed in Marion
Marion County Record•NewsletterSpecial prosecutors this week finally released their report on last August’s police raid of the Marion County Record. The report recommends criminal charges against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, and clears the Record and its reporters of wrongdoing.
Gag rules stifle financial journalism
NewsletterThe Securities and Exchange Commission requires defendants who settle cases it brings to contract away their right to deny the SEC’s allegations. So does the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That means potential sources can’t speak to financial journalists.
Pressure Netanyahu to protect journalists
NewsletterWith Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting the U.S. this week, officials who claim to care about press freedom need to make clear to him that the U.S. will not tolerate killings, imprisonments, or censorship of journalists by its ally.
Don’t let prosecutors define journalism
NewsletterFederal prosecutors are claiming a startling new power: the ability to decide what is or isn’t “legitimate” journalism.
Police must protect press covering RNC
NewsletterAs journalists arrive at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum to cover the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), we can expect the public to take to the streets to protest everything from Donald Trump’s nomination to the ongoing war in Gaza and the killing of Dvontaye Mitchell.
Platform cases uphold press precedent
NewsletterWith all eyes on the Supreme Court’s disturbing opinion on presidential immunity, you may have missed that the court also issued an important First Amendment decision this week about social media content moderation.
Assange freed, press freedom imperiled
NewsletterJulian Assange has finally been freed after reaching a surprising deal with U.S. authorities to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act. The plea deal avoids the worst outcome of a court precedent that could be used against journalists, but it still threatens press freedom.
States keep public in dark
NewsletterA full-fledged assault on transparency is underway in the states. Recent changes to public records laws in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Utah are making it harder for journalists and the public to find out what government officials are up to.
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
EPA has known for 20 years that it promotes toxic fertilizer
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: The CIA drugged unsuspecting Americans as part of its mind-control research programs.
Aliens, Gitmo, and the weather: Excessive secrecy affects everything
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: a look back at 2024
Gitmo, background checks, and drones: a busy week in secrecy news
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: U.S. government declassifies 1960 report stating Israeli nuclear site was for weapons
National security claims hide information from families separated at border
Secrecy•NewsletterPlus: how you can help preserve federal data at risk of being deleted
Support the Internet Archive
Expert analysis•NewsletterHelp out a critical resource for journalists as it experiences a series of digital attacks.
Chrome phases out popular ad blocker — what now?
Communication security•NewsletterIt’s the Digital Security Training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with security news that keeps you, your sources, and your devices safe. If someone has shared this newsletter with you, please subscribe here.In the newsIn its push to rework permissions within Google Chrome desktop …
See, this is why we need encryption
NewsletterU.S. intelligence agencies suggest China is involved in a breach of multiple major U.S. telecommunications providers.
Indicted NYC mayor forgets phone passcode
NewsletterEric Adams allegedly claimed that he had changed the passcode and told the FBI he did not remember it.
Discord boosts private call encryption
NewsletterDiscord announced its rollout of end-to-end encryption for voice and video calls in one-to-one and group direct messages, voice channels, and Go Live streams.
Apple seeks dismissal of NSO Group lawsuit
NewsletterApple has filed a motion to withdraw a lawsuit against NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company.
Telegram rethinks messaging on content moderation
NewsletterFollowing the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, the messaging app modified its FAQ page to clarify some new rules.
City sues security researcher after revelations about ransomware attack
NewsletterColumbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced that the data was either “encrypted or corrupted.”
Telegram misrepresented amid founder’s arrest
NewsletterThe arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has helped foster the mistaken notion that the app is a standard end-to-end encrypted messenger.
Data broker breach leaks Social Security numbers (again)
NewsletterNational Public Data confirmed nearly 3 billion records were affected.
Russia blocks access to Signal
NewsletterThe latest move means that the app has been removed from Google Play and Apple App Store in Russia.
Cloudflare hides abusive websites
NewsletterThe Spamhaus Project has released a blog criticizing Cloudflare — a content delivery network and cloud cybersecurity provider — for providing security services to abusive domains. These websites could contain spam, phishing links, malware, and even botnets.
Android spyware flies under the radar
NewsletterThe cybersecurity firm Kaspersky disclosed that at least five Google Play applications contained Mandrake, a sophisticated cyberespionage tool.
Google backtracks on ad privacy plan
NewsletterGoogle has a habit of hitting the brakes on products and features — so much so that it’s become something of a meme to be “killed by Google.” This time it decided to backtrack on its long-standing plan to replace traditional tracking in its Chrome browser.
Beware fraudulent CrowdStrike emails
NewsletterLast Friday, computer systems worldwide were taken down by a defective update from enterprise cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike. In the wake of the outage, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency is warning of phishing emails, with attackers posing as CrowdStrike customer support.
What to do about AT&T breach
NewsletterAround 110 million AT&T subscribers were affected by a data breach from May 1 to Oct. 31, 2022, TechCrunch reported.
Massive Authy leak, plus Proton Docs
NewsletterThe parent company for Authy, an application for two-factor authentication, has issued a critical security update to its Android and iOS users. According to BleepingComputer, hackers utilized leaked phone numbers from past data breaches to identify up to 33 million Authy users.
Eavesdropping on AirPods?
NewsletterApple released a firmware update patching a critical Bluetooth vulnerability in AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Fit Pro. According to its support page, an adversary in Bluetooth range could spoof as an intended source device for these wireless headphones. When the targeted headphones send a connection request to the spoofed device, it could eavesdrop on confidential conversations.
Mail surveillance is widespread
NewsletterAccording to data unearthed in a congressional probe, more than 60,000 requests by federal investigators and police captured data on 312,000 letters and packages between 2015 and 2023.
When data brokers break
NewsletterWe often talk to newsrooms about dealing with data brokers — companies that aggregate and sell data from commercial and public records. According to recent reporting from TechCrunch, an alleged breach of a U.S. data broker impacted at least 300 million people. Their reporting suggests “mixed results” verifying the authenticity of the data.
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 …
