David Kaye on the Pegasus Project and why surveillance reform should reach beyond NSO Group and Israel
In 2020, then-United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye pressed Israeli firm NSO Group in a public letter for details about its human rights due diligence and assertions that Saudi Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi had not been targeted with its Pegasus spyware before his brutal 2018 murder. The group…
Pegasus Project revelations show added layer of risk for corruption reporters
Exposing those who abuse power for personal gain is a dangerous activity. Nearly 300 journalists killed for their work since CPJ started keeping records in 1992 covered corruption, either as their primary beat, or one of several. The risk was reaffirmed this month with the release of the Pegasus Project, collaborative reporting by 17 global…
Palestinian police close the office of J-Media Network news agency near Ramallah
New York, July 29, 2021 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the closure by the Palestinian police of the office of the J-Media Network news agency in Ramallah and called on Palestinian authorities to allow J-Media staff to return to the office and report the news freely and without fear of reprisal. On…
CPJ denies Egyptian authorities’ accusation that it funded press freedom advocate Gamal Eid to defame Egypt
Washington, D.C., July 29, 2021—Egyptian authorities should drop all charges against press freedom advocate Gamal Eid and allow him to work and travel freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 27, an Egyptian investigative judge questioned Eid, founder of the regional press freedom group Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), for…
CPJ joins call for moratorium on surveillance technology targeting journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists this week joined more than 150 human rights groups and independent experts in calling on states to implement an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer, and use of surveillance technology following revelations that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware has been used to spy on journalists around the world. The Pegasus Project,…
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,…
Tunisian authorities raid Al-Jazeera bureau amid political turmoil
New York, July 26, 2021 – In response to news reports that Tunisian security forces today stormed Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera’s Tunis bureau, ordered staff to leave the building, confiscated equipment, and barred staff from returning, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s raid by Tunisian security forces on Al-Jazeera’s bureau jeopardizes the…
Journalists attacked throughout northeastern Syria, 2 remain in detention
New York, July 23, 2021 – All parties in northern Syria must do their utmost to ensure that members of the press can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since July 16, unidentified attackers and Syrian Kurdish security forces have attacked and detained at least five members of the press throughout areas…
Investigative reporter Bradley Hope: Pegasus spyware revelations a ‘wake-up call for journalists’
Bradley Hope was in Abu Dhabi in 2009, the year the BlackBerry devices overheated. “If you put it next to your face it would almost burn,” he told CPJ in a phone interview. The BBC that year reported that a UAE telecom company had prompted local BlackBerry owners to install a rogue surveillance update disguised…
Egyptian authorities detain journalist Abdel Naser Salama on terrorism and false news charges
New York, July 19, 2021 – Egyptian authorities must immediately release journalist Abdel Nasser Salama and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, state security officers in Alexandria arrested Salama, a columnist at the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram and its former editor-in-chief, from his home, according to news reports. Prosecutors…