Journalists still surveilled around the world ahead of Data Privacy Day
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes #pressfreedom worldwide.
The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Get this newsletter sent directly to your email by subscribing here.
When journalists can’t protect themselves or their sources, everyone’s right to information is at risk. Ahead of Data Privacy Day on Sunday, we’re highlighting the ever-present threat of surveillance that journalists face today.
?? Just this week, CPJ called again for an immediate moratorium on the sale of spyware technology after the phones of two Togolese journalists were found to have been infected with Pegasus spyware in 2021. Both journalists currently face criminal prosecution for their work and told CPJ they were surprised to learn they had been targeted.
?? And in Ukraine, staff members of the investigative outlet Bihus.info found that their phones were allegedly wiretapped and monitored for about a year. The wiretapping was revealed when a video of the staff at a New Year’s party alongside recorded phone conversations was published on YouTube.
These incidents are part of an ongoing pattern. Last year, CPJ spoke to a victim of state-sponsored spyware about the experience of finding out her phone had been monitored: Galina Timchenko, head of independent Russian news website Meduza and CPJ’s 2022 Gwen Ifill Awardee. Her phone was infected by Pegasus surveillance spyware shortly after the Russian government designated her outlet as an “undesirable” organization.
The violation of her privacy sickened her. “I feel like I am naked in the street,” she told CPJ.
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More on spyware:
Research by CPJ and other organizations shows sophisticated spyware products marketed to governments to fight crime have been used to target the press, posing an existential crisis for journalism and press freedom around the world.
?? How to protect yourself: Review and share our digital safety resources, including the digital safety kit, risk assessment, and safety advisory for journalist targets of Pegasus spyware. And you can sign up to receive our latest safety information straight to your inbox here.
?? CPJ has documented how zero-click spyware like NSO Group’s Pegasus can take over a phone without a user’s knowledge or interaction. Watch our video about how spyware works:
Global press freedom updates
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Spotlight
When the Israel-Gaza war began, Alaa al-Rimawi snapped into action, covering developments on J-Media, the West Bank-based news agency he directs, as well as on TikTok and Facebook. But his conflict coverage would be short-lived. Less than two weeks after the start of the war, Israel banned J-Media on security grounds and quickly arrested three other J-Media employees. On October 19, al-Rimawi met the same fate. He was undergoing a medical examination at a hospital when Israeli forces raided his home in Ramallah, detaining his son to pressure al-Rimawi to turn himself in. Later that day, al-Rimawi surrendered himself at nearby Ofer Prison.
?Like the majority of the 17 Palestinian journalists on CPJ’s 2023 prison census, al-Rimawi has not been charged.
Read more in our special feature by Naomi Zeveloff, CPJ’s senior editor of features and analysis.
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More on the Israel-Gaza war:
?? As of January 25, CPJ has documented 83 journalists and media workers killed while covering the war, 16 journalists injured, 3 missing, and 25 arrested.
?? This week, CPJ and partners called on the EU to help journalists in the war, explaining that its unprecedented toll on journalists “has obvious and profound implications for the ability of the public, including the citizens of the European Union, to be informed about a conflict with local, regional, and global implications.”
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What we are reading
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Explore our legal resources for journalists.
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Owner at Forgotten Treasures
1 年There is a lot of interesting information all around with this organization but.... I find the biased attitude extremely disconcerting. As journalists it is the job to report and represent situations objectively. Never for personal gain or influence. Unfortunately now media, journalism is falling. Yes also it would be amazing to bring everyone home safe and sound but not possible. You choose to be where the actual action is, you pay the price. I apologize for the long comment.