Mass U.S. Surveillance Targeting Journalists and Lawyers Seen as Threat to American Democracy | Democracy Now!
In a new report, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties
Union warn that "large-scale surveillance is seriously hampering
U.S.-based journalists and lawyers in their work." The report is based
on interviews with dozens of reporters and lawyers. They describe a
media climate where journalists take cumbersome security steps that
slows down their reporting. Sources are afraid of talking, as aggressive
prosecutions scare government officials into staying silent, even about
issues that are unclassified. For lawyers, the threat of surveillance
is stoking fears they will be unable to protect a client’s right to
privacy. Some defendants are afraid of speaking openly to their own
counsel, undermining a lawyer’s ability provide the best possible
defense. We speak to Alex Sinha, author of the report, "With Liberty to
Monitor All: How Large-Scale U.S. Surveillance Is Harming Journalism,
Law, and American Democracy," and to national security reporter Jeremy
Scahill.
