'U.S. Surveillance Hampering Work Of Journalists And Lawyers'
The crackdown includes new restrictions on contact between intelligence officials and the media, an increase in leak prosecutions, and the Insider Threat Program, which requires federal officials to report one another for "suspicious" behaviour that might betray an intention to leak information.
Journalists interviewed for the report said that surveillance intimidates sources, making them more hesitant to discuss even unclassified issues of public concern. The sources fear they could lose their security clearances, be fired, or in the worst case, come under criminal investigation, the report said.
"People are increasingly scared to talk about anything, including unclassified matters that are of legitimate public concern," observed one Pulitzer Prize winner. Noting that the questions raised by surveillance are complex, the report says, the government has an obligation to protect national security, and in some cases, it is legitimate for government to restrict certain rights to that end.
At the same time, international human rights and constitutional law set limits on the state's authority to engage in activities like surveillance, which have the potential to undermine so many other rights, it said, adding that the current, large-scale, often indiscriminate U.S. approach to surveillance carries enormous costs.
"It erodes global digital privacy and sets a terrible example for other countries like India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and others that are in the process of expanding their surveillance capabilities. It also damages U.S. credibility in advocating internationally for internet freedom, which the U.S. has listed as an important foreign policy objective since at least 2010," the report said.
