‘A high-profile action’: Lawyer Douglas Jacobson on what U.S. export restrictions could mean for Israel’s NSO Group
On November 3, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it had imposed export controls on the Israeli NSO Group, saying the company “developed and supplied spyware to foreign governments that used these tools to maliciously target” journalists and others. The move represented a relatively new use for the Entity List for Malicious Cyber Activities, a…
US blacklisting of NSO Group a welcome first step to curb spyware abuse
Washington, D.C., November 3, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the U.S. Department of Commerce’s addition of the Israel-based technology company NSO Group to the Entity List for Malicious Cyber Activities today. “CPJ welcomes the Department of Commerce’s decision to impose export controls on NSO Group for developing and supplying Pegasus spyware to…
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan must advocate for press freedom in meetings with Saudi Arabia and UAE
New York, September 27, 2021 – U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan should advocate for an end to press freedom violations in Yemen and throughout the Persian Gulf region as he meets with leaders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sullivan is traveling to the region…
CPJ condemns Biden administration bypassing human rights conditions in military aid to Egypt
In a joint statement today, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 18 other civil society groups in condemning the reported decision by U.S. President Joseph Biden’s administration to send military aid to Egypt and bypass human rights conditions set by Congress. The statement noted that the administration’s move to send $170 million in military aid,…
CPJ welcomes Katherine Jacobsen as U.S. and Canada program coordinator
New York, August 30, 2021–The Committee to Protect Journalists is pleased to announce that Katherine Jacobsen has been named U.S. and Canada program coordinator. Jacobsen will lead CPJ’s work reporting on press freedom in the United States and Canada and head advocacy efforts to improve press freedom in both countries. “I’m delighted that Katherine will…
CPJ disappointed by U.S. appeals court ruling in Jamal Khashoggi lawsuit
Washington, D.C., August 27, 2021–In response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ lawsuit asking the U.S. intelligence community to confirm or deny the existence of documents providing information on its duty to warn Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi of threats to…
Former Capital Gazette editor on justice and healing after worst newsroom shooting in U.S. history
When CPJ interviewed Rick Hutzell at a café in Annapolis, Maryland, in July, he acknowledged that the decision to open up about his experiences as the former editor of the Capital Gazette, the site of the worst newsroom shooting in U.S. history, was a shift. Hutzell had been wary of giving interviews in the three…
WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart: The spyware industry is undermining freedom
Will Cathcart is the chief executive of WhatsApp, the downloadable messaging app used by millions around the world as a primary means of communication. WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption, meaning messages shared via the platform are, under normal circumstances, highly secure—a feature that has made it attractive for journalists, human rights defenders, and other vulnerable users,…
Russian authorities ban investigative outlet Proekt as ‘undesirable,’ classify staff as foreign agents
Stockholm, July 20, 2021 – Russian authorities should allow the independent investigative news outlet Proekt and its staff to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 15, the Office of the Prosecutor-General of Russia classified the outlet’s parent company as “undesirable,” thereby banning its operations in the country, and the Justice…
CPJ welcomes new US rules protecting journalists’ records
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2021 — In response to news reports today that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued new rules limiting federal prosecutors’ ability to obtain journalists’ phone and email records in government leak investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “This is a welcome first step in lessening the chilling…