We sued the government over excessive secrecy three times this week
The U.S. classifies far too many secrets, obstructing democracy.
Excessive government secrecy takes many forms, from agencies needlessly claiming documents are classified to ignoring information requests and destroying records — even when the documents show government fraud or illegal conduct. This hinders a free press, effective oversight, and the public’s ability to self govern.
We need to fight for systemic improvements, and we need the press to vigorously question the government every time it says something is classified.
Fight presidential secrecy
Help promote transparency when the public needs it most.
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Write a letter to strengthen presidential library transparency
It’s too difficult to know what current presidential administrations are doing with donations to presidential libraries or what past administrations have done. Congress can help fix it — but it needs to hear from you to act.
Featured Items
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An independent journalist explains how the Freedom of Information Act is broken
There are many side effects to being stonewalled: disbelief, anger, disillusionment, and, of course, repeating yourself. I have experienced them all. Since early 2012, I’ve been trying to access evidence from one of the most significant prescription drug-dealing trials in U.S. history, which ended with Dr. Paul Volkman – who …
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New documents show the Obama admin aggressively lobbied to kill transparency reform in Congress
New documents obtained through Freedom of the Press Foundation’s lawsuit against the Justice Department reveal that the Obama administration - the self described “most transparent administration ever” - aggressively lobbied behind the scenes in 2014 to kill modest Freedom of Information Act reform that had virtually unanimous support in Congress. …
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Author Barry Eisler talks about whistleblowers and secrecy at the Association of Former Intelligence Officers
Author and former CIA officer Barry Eisler spoke at the Association of Former Intelligence Officers opposite ex-CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden on Monday. Below is an adaptation of his opening remarks about the importance of whistleblowers and government transparency. Eisler's new novel, "God's Eye View," inspired by the Snowden …
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New documents shed light on the Justice Dept's secret rules for targeting journalists with National Security Letters
In July 2015, Freedom of the Press Foundation sued the Justice Department (DOJ) over the agency’s secret rules governing how the FBI can target members of the media with due process-free National Security Letters, and we have just received documents back in the ongoing lawsuit. These secret rules matter because …
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Freedom of the Press Foundation sues the Justice Department for details about its push to block transparency reform
Freedom of the Press Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Justice Department for all correspondence the agency has had with Congress over proposed FOIA reform bills that died last year in Congress, despite having unanimous support of all its members. More than a year …
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Publishing the unredacted SecureDrop 0.3.4 audit report
In July, we announced the release of SecureDrop 0.3.4 and published the accompanying security audit by iSEC partners (now NCC Group). The audit found 10 issues, one of which â issue 7, Finding ID iSEC-15FTC-4 â was redacted. It was redacted because it was not an issue in SecureDrop …
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In preparation to join US wars, Japan dismantles freedom of the press
In 2010, Japan was ranked #11 in Reporters Without Borders’ global Press Freedom Index. By February 2015, that number had plummeted to #61 - and next year it will likely fall further. Since coming to power in 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party have embarked …
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We just sued the Justice Department over the FBI’s secret rules for using National Security Letters on journalists
Today we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Justice Department over their unpublished rules for using National Security Letters and so-called informal “exigent letters” to conduct surveillance of journalists. Last year, after a backlash stemming from the surveillance of Associated Press and Fox News journalists, the …
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Justice Department report directly contradicts the Attorney General's claims about the Patriot Act
In the midst of the last-minute Congressional debate about whether to re-authorize Patriot Act Section 215, the Justice Department Inspector General (IG) released a long awaited report today on how the FBI has used (and abused) Section 215 for the past few years. Unfortunately, the report is heavily redacted so …
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Our brief in support of Twitter's lawsuit against the US government for violating the First Amendment
Yesterday, NYU Technology Law & Policy Clinic filed a legal brief on behalf of Freedom of the Press Foundation in Twitter's important lawsuit against the government for violating their First Amendment rights. Buoyed by the Snowden disclosures that began eighteen months ago, tech companies like Twitter have been attempting to …
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