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Articles

Snowden’s Non-Profit Releases Tools To Protect Journalists, Whistleblowers

Published in First Amendment .

Edward Snowden is the gift that keeps on giving. At least for us, libertarians.

Not only did he blow the whistle on the federal government’s lack of care for Americans’ privacy rights, but he did so responsibly. Now, after having been the victim of persecution for almost four years, he’s helping to continue the revolution he helped to ignite. By giving others the tools they need to remain safe when doing the same he had to do.

Non-profit

According to Wired, Snowden’s non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation is releasing a series of tools to help journalists and newsrooms to ensure their sources and communications are secure. This would shield whistleblowers like Snowden himself, giving them the incentives to report on wrongdoing committed by government employees and elected officials. An important task, considering the real threats journalists suffered in the past years while attempting to maintain their sources protected.

In 2015, for instance, it was revealed that British spies had had access to emails from most major newspapers and wire services in the country. In late 2016, Montreal police had tracked phone calls made by a reporter in order to identify his sources. Unsurprisingly, the target of the investigation had been critical of the law enforcement agency.

More recently, the current US president Donald Trump called on Congress to investigate leaks made to NBC news.

As the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s phone continues to ring off the hook for information on how to stay protected, the organization has launched a list of features and tools such as SecureDrop. The tool that functions through Tor, and that allows whistleblowers to make secure uploads of documents or leaked materials.

Sunder is another tool Snowden is helping to popularize. It was built as a coder for Signal, and because it requires passwords from multiple individuals so that the encrypted data is available, it will also keep sources secure.

Aside from these two tools, Snowden also helped to design an iPhone case that alerts the user if phone’s data is being transmitted without his knowledge, as well as a new version of Jitsi, an encrypted chat software that would be designed for newsrooms use.

While privacy advocates cannot fix the surveillance problem overnight, Snowden said about his organization’s goals, building a shield that will help to protect whistleblowers may do the trick.

Instead of sitting on his hands, watching the surveillance state grow massively with each new administration, Snowden took matters into his own hands. Developing his own solutions while supporting those who do the same. Living freely, in spite of government overreach.


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