Expanded surveillance powers could threaten work of journalists in UK
May 5, 2017 12:08 PM ET
Brussels, May 5, 2017--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news reports that the U.K. government wants to push telecommunication companies to introduce real-time surveillance and the removal of encryption. On Thursday, The Register published leaked draft regulations detailing how telecommunications operators would be required to grant real-time...
UK's proposed Espionage Act will treat journalists like spies
March 17, 2017 11:41 AM ET
Journalists in Britain are becoming increasingly alarmed by the government's apparent determination to prevent them from fulfilling their mission to hold power to account. The latest manifestation of this assault on civil liberties is the so-called Espionage Act. If passed by parliament, it could lead to journalists who obtain...
UK police monitored calls of Daily Mirror and Northern Echo journalists
January 13, 2017 5:10 PM ET
New York, January 13, 2017--U.K. police used surveillance powers to monitor the phone calls of three journalists to try to reveal their sources in two separate stories, according to news reports....
UK's Section 40 press law would curb independent, investigative journalism
January 9, 2017 3:34 PM ET
British journalists say the future of independent and investigative journalism in the U.K. is at stake, as a deadline for public consultation on press regulation ends tomorrow. If it is implemented, Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 would leave news outlets not signed up to an...
When it comes to abusive readers' comments and tweets from Internet trolls, Katherine O'Donnell has heard it all. For years, O'Donnell, who is night editor of the Scottish edition of the U.K.'s The Times, has borne the brunt of personal attacks, including about her gender, from online trolls who take...
"Yeah... I went too far," he said, which by most accounts would be an understatement. Among the Twitter comments this Internet troll posted to or about a female writer and activist were: "Rape her nice ass." "I will find you." "The police will do nothing." The man, who agreed to...
EU rulings on whistleblowers and right-to-be-forgotten laws puts press freedom at risk
April 14, 2016 3:43 PM ET
European journalists were reminded today that their freedom to report is not only determined by national laws, but increasingly by European institutions. Today, after years of political battle, the European Parliament adopted the Passenger Name Record directive, the Data Protection Package, and the Trade Secrets Protection Act. The stakes...
Two British journalists convicted in Indonesia over visa violations
November 3, 2015 1:29 PM ET
New York, November 3, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the conviction of British filmmakers Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser who, according to reports, were sentenced to two and a half month in prison in Indonesia today. The conviction represents a failure of the government to reverse...
As police seize Newsnight laptop, concerns grow at reach of UK counter-terrorism measures
October 29, 2015 4:47 PM ET
For journalists investigating jihadist networks, the UK is proving to be no safe haven. British police used special powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 in August to seize the laptop of Secunder Kermani, a reporter for BBC Two's flagship news show "Newsnight," according to reports. "They required the BBC to...
Two British filmmakers on trial in Indonesia over visa regulations
October 22, 2015 3:52 PM ET
New York, October 22, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the continued detention and trial of two British filmmakers who have been held in Indonesia since May 28. They are being held with the general prison population in a provincial jail in Batam, according to family members....