A new bill that recently passed the Senate will let members of Congress censor information about themselves online. The result is easy to predict: suppression of the press from reporting about Congress. Check out this op-ed from FPF's Caitlin Vogus:
Dallas News
Cruz-Klobuchar bill would sacrifice speech for a false sense of security
Cruz-Klobuchar bill censors online information too broadly in the name of security, writes senior adviser at Freedom of the Press Foundation.
The hate crime charge against Alexa Wilkinson for photographing vandalism of the New York Times building is a dangerous precedent, no matter what you think of Wilkinson.
Freedom of the Press
Journalist or not, photography isn’t a hate crime
Gatekeeping over hate crime charges misses the forest for the trees
"That somebody might use the app to break the law doesn't mean the app can be banned any more than a newspaper ... because someone might use its reporting in a manner that the administration considers unlawful," FPF's Seth Stern told BBC.
Could US government ban apps which track ICE agents?
The US government and law enforcement agencies have hit out at developers and users of the apps, saying they pose a risk to agents.
Alongside 404 Media, we sued DHS demanding they hand over a copy of an agreement that shares the personal data of nearly 80 million Medicaid patients with ICE. We believe it’s important for the public to see this unprecedented data sharing agreement.
404 Media
404 Media and Freedom of the Press Foundation Sue DHS
Both organizations are seeking a copy of a data sharing agreement that is giving the personal data of nearly 80 million Medicaid patients to ICE.
"It’s not the journalists’ burden to keep the government’s secrets for it," Seth Stern told Columbia Journalism Review. "That is the opposite of the press’s job, which is to tell the public what the government doesn’t want the public told."
Columbia Journalism Review
The Pentagon press gears up for a fight.
“None of us are signing this pledge,” said one reporter.
The Senate apparently believes that members of Congress deserve privacy protections, but not regular Americans.
TechCrunch
Ted Cruz blocks bill that would extend privacy protections to all Americans | TechCrunch
The Texas senator blocked a bill that would have prevented data brokers from selling personal data on anyone in the United States, and not just fed...
From the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Three journalists were assaulted by federal officers while reporting outside the immigration court at NYC’s Federal Plaza this morning. One of the journalists, L. Vural Elibol of Anadolu Agency, struck his head and has been hospitalized.
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
Turkish journalist hospitalized after assault at NYC immigration court
L. Vural Elibol, chief videographer for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was knocked to the ground by federal officers while reporting at …