USA / Americas

For data on press freedom violations in the U.S., visit the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partnership between CPJ and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Read CPJ’s report on the Biden administration and the press.

  

CPJ extremely concerned by court order restricting New York Times coverage

Washington, D.C., November 19, 2021 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed grave concern over a New York Supreme Court order restricting the New York Times’ coverage of Project Veritas. Yesterday, Judge Charles Wood issued an order blocking the newspaper from publishing materials concerning Project Veritas, a conservative nonprofit that targets groups it perceives…

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CPJ concerned over FBI raid on home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe

Washington, D.C., November 15, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about the harmful precedent set by recent Federal Bureau of Investigation raids on the homes of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe and his associates. According to media reports, the FBI seized O’Keefe’s cellphones during a November 6 raid on his home…

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‘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…

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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…

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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…

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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,…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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,…

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