USA / Americas

For data on press freedom violations in the U.S., visit the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partnership between CPJ and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Read CPJ’s report On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom.

  
A traveler arrives at New York's JFK airport. Suggestions by the Homeland Security Secretary that passengers be asked for social media passwords would impact journalists. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

CPJ calls on Homeland Security secretary to reject password proposal

The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly’s suggestion to a committee hearing that the U.S. could request social media profile and password information as a condition to entering the country. Such requirements would have an impact on journalists by undermining their ability to protect sources and work product,…

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A banner is unveiled near a camp of Dakota Access pipeline protesters. Several journalists covering the Standing Rock protests are facing charges. (AP/David Goldman)V(AP Photo/David Goldman)

Journalists covering Standing Rock face charges as police arrest protesters

For months, environmental protesters have clashed with police and private security companies over plans for the Dakota Access Pipeline, a $3.7 billion project that opponents say will destroy Native American sites and affect the region’s water supply. While mainstream media have covered flashpoints in the protests, a core of mostly freelance, left-wing, and Native American…

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Transition to Trump: When a president-elect tweets, the trolls take aim

As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.

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Transition to Trump: Reporters must be allowed to protect their sources

As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.

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Transition to Trump: Why U.S. needs to be global leader in protecting strong encryption

As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.

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Transition to Trump: What Obama’s Freedom of Information legacy means for press

As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.

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Transition to Trump: First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams on Trump’s power over libel laws

As a new presidential administration prepares to take over the U.S., CPJ examines the status of press freedom, including the challenges journalists face from surveillance, harassment, limited transparency, the questioning of libel laws, and other factors.

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Travelers wait for a security check at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in November. Journalists traveling to the U.S. can face searches that can risk the confidentiality of their sources. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP)

Security risk for sources as US border agents stop and search journalists

French-American photojournalist Kim Badawi did not go home to Texas for Thanksgiving this year. He didn’t want to risk a repeat of November last year, when he says U.S. border security detained him at Miami airport and interrogated him in minute detail about his private life, political views, and journalistic sources.

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CPJ testimony on threats to press freedom at Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

Today, at a hearing before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney C. Radsch gave testimony on the threats to freedom of expression.

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A confrontation outside a Trump rally in San Diego in May. Journalists covering the Republican and Democratic conventions are advised to take security precautions. (AP/Lenny Ignelzi)

Be prepared: steps to staying safe while covering US political party conventions

The U.S. political party conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia this summer carry the risk of civil unrest. While protests have long occurred both inside and outside of convention venues, security experts and political commentators have said this year’s gatherings have the potential for unrest not seen since in the U.S. since the Vietnam war-era clashes…

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