Abby (Liebeskind) Johnson

If you are a journalist — or know one — who has been attacked, seriously threatened, denied access by a public official or targeted with a legal order in the course of reporting, let us know. You can now submit tips in English or Spanish. Email: tips@pressfreedomtracker.us

If you are a journalist — or know one — who has been attacked, seriously threatened, denied access by a public official or targeted with a legal order in the course of reporting, let us know. You can now submit tips in English or Spanish.

Email: tips@pressfreedomtracker.us

A screenshot of a social media post from Greg Abbott. The text says: "This is what happened to the person who was mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Texas Tech. FAFO." The attached image shows a young woman with long braids, wearing a patterned tank top and jeans, being handcuffed by two police officers in uniform. Her facial expression looks tense as she turns her head. Below, Abbott’s earlier post is quoted: "Definitely picked the wrong school to taunt the death of Charlie Kirk. Thanks Texas Tech." The post shows thousands of replies, retweets, and likes.

A screenshot of a social media post from Eric Daugherty. The text says: "🚨 UPDATE: It's being reported that this demon who danced on Charlie Kirk's grave has been expelled from Texas Tech. She said: 'f-ck y'all, yo homie dad!' They're finding out." Below is a still from a video showing a college campus walkway with students standing around. A woman with long hair, a backpack, and a tank top is at the center. On-screen text in the video reads: "Woke college student at Texas Tech mocks Charlie Kirk’s dath. 'Fck y’all... yo homie d*ad'. Make her famous." The post notes it was reshared from Gabriel and shows 3.5M views.

It may be distasteful but it is not illegal to mock someone's death and it should not warrant arrest, ever. The 1st Amendment exists specifically to protect disfavored speech and what is happening now is one of the greatest threats to free speech in the United States.

FTC Chair Ferguson claims that moderating US content because of foreign laws “to appease a foreign power” might be unfair or deceptive. This claim is legally baseless. He's trying to reshape online speech in ways he prefers, which the First Amendment bars
techfreedom.org/wp-content/u...

Airlines Don't Want You to Know They Sold Your Flight Data to DHS A contract obtained by 404 Media shows that an airline-owned data broker forbids the feds from revealing it sold them detailed passenger data.

New from 404 Media: Delta, United, American etc don't want you to know they sold your flight data to DHS. The country's airlines sell bulk names and flight itineraries to DHS to be searched without a warrant. Contract tells DHS to not reveal where this data came from www.404media.co/airlines-don...

In Memoriam: John L. Young, Cryptome Co-Founder John L. Young, who died March 28 at age 89 in New York City, was among the first people to see the need for an online library of official secrets, a place where the public could find out things that g...

In memoriam: Cryptome co-founder John L. Young, who died March 28 at age 89 in New York City, was one of the early, under-recognized heroes of the digital age.

Without a hearing, written opinion, or official signatures, this shadowy ruling ignores the state constitution and has cleared the way for newly-elected State Auditor Dave Boliek to flip the NC State Board of Elections and all 100 county boards from Democratic to Republican control #ncpol

US sees surge in bills seeking criminal punishments for protected speech Forty-one anti-protest bills in 22 states have been introduced since start of 2025, according to law tracker Anti-protest bills that seek to expand criminal punishments for constitutionally protected peaceful protests – especially targeting those speaking out on the US-backed war in Gaza and the climate crisis – have spiked since Trump’s inauguration. Forty-one new anti-protest bills across 22 states have been introduced since the start of the year – compared with a full-year total of 52 in 2024 and 26 in 2023, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) tracker. Continue reading...

US sees surge in bills seeking criminal punishments for protected speech

Trump's Attack on Lawyers and Law Firms Takes a Page Out of the Southern 1950s Playbook American Authoritarians Fear the Uniquely American Power of Litigation

open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

NH’s new ID requirements send some would-be voters home to grab passports, birth certificates The law requires all new voters to show proof of their U.S. citizenship. For some, that meant making multiple trips to and from the polls before finally casting a ballot on Tuesday.

As predicted, women in New Hampshire had a hard time voting yesterday because of the new proof of citizenship law:

“It doesn’t have my married name on it,” she said. Town voting officials then sent her away a second time, to get her marriage certificate.

www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...

If you still have the option, make sure Advanced Data Protection is enabled on your account support.apple.com/en-us/108756

Struggle Over Americans’ Personal Data Plays Out Across the Government (Gift Article) Employees from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are gaining access to vast amounts of information held by federal agencies, even as lawsuits try to stop them.

In the world of privacy coverage, there has always been a central question of who is a greater threat to it: the government or corporate America.

Now with DOGE, the two are merged into one: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/u...

Government’s wins are often invisible: Systems that avoid plane crashes; alliances that avert war; surveillance that prevent pandemics.

Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.*

So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?

And the kicker - the USG recommended using E2EE to the extent possible after the Salt Typhoon “hacking spree”…

“Officials in Canada, New Zealand and Australia endorsed the recommendations. Those in the United Kingdom did not.”

DOJ orders child safety authority to comply with Trump's ‘gender ideology’ order The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said it would be removing all references to transgender people from its public materials.

Confirming what @marisakabas.bsky.social had earlier today: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received an order this week from DOJ, its primary funder: remove references to trans people in its public materials, in accordance to Trump's anti-trans EO. NCMEC is complying.

New — The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) was told this week by DOJ that they'd lose their funding if the org didn't remove any mentions of LGBTQIA+ issues from their public materials, I've learned. Staff were told they need to deadname trans kids in their reports to comply.

Trump's freezing of all civil rights cases at the DOJ is not part of an anti-DEI agenda, but an anti-civil rights agenda. DOJ was *founded* to protect Black rights during Reconstruction. That this difference is unclear speaks to the success of conservative propagandists and the failures of liberals.

Introduction to Investigative Journalism: Digital Security Digital security may seem a little daunting at first, but increased security will help investigative journalists build trust with — and protect — current and future sources.

I wrote a very timely introduction to digital security for journalists for @gijn.org last fall. This guidance may also apply to activists, lawyers, and anyone else doing at-risk work these days. gijn.org/resource/int...

California’s Surveillance Systems Have Once Again Become a Major Liability | TechPolicy.Press Nicole A. Ozer and Matt Cagle write that the rights guaranteed by California law cannot just be words on paper; they must also be a lived reality.

The surveillance systems that officials touted would keep us safe have become a major liability. Rights guaranteed by CA law cannot just be words on paper; they must also be lived reality. www.techpolicy.press/californias-.... New article w/ @mattcagle.bsky.social for @techpolicypress.bsky.social.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is my favorite novel of all time!

Dog gets way too close to the camera with a blazing sunset in the background

Self satisfied dog poses, sitting in front of a sunset

How’s it going over here?