Live Online Policy Forum 

# Government Surveillance and Journalism: The Threat Landscape 

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Date and Time 

October 10, 2024 1 - 2 PM EDT 

Location 

Live Online 

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##### Featuring 

![Carlos Martinez de la Serna](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-10/carlos-martinez-de-la-serna.jpg?itok=sm-HpCJk) 

Carlos Martinez de la Serna 

Director of Programs, Committee to Protect Journalists

![Allie Funk](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-09/allie-funk-circle.jpeg?itok=YPJOuOaa) 

Allie Funk 

Technology and Democracy Initiative Lead, Freedom House

![Harlo Holmes](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-09/harlo-holmes-circle.jpeg?itok=e6nO3NUX) 

Harlo Holmes 

Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Digital Security, Free Press Foundation

[![Patrick G. Eddington](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Patrick%20Eddington.jpg?itok=ddIWrIm5)](/people/patrick-g-eddington) 

[Patrick G. Eddington](/people/patrick-g-eddington)

Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/pgeddington) [ 

](mailto:peddington@cato.org) 

Journalists have been the targets of government surveillance, harassment, and violence for over a century—both in America and abroad. Modern surveillance technologies—facial recognition, artificial intelligence, spyware, and more—make it increasingly easy for governments to track not only journalists but also their sources, putting both at risk.

How many journalists or news organizations have been negatively impacted by these developments? How is the journalism profession responding to these threats? What measures can democratic governments take to help protect journalists facing these perils? How has the resolution of the Julian Assange case affected the political, legal, and technological dynamics involved in protecting journalists and their sources? Our panel will tackle these and related questions.

#### This event is part of the 2024 Cato Surveillance Week series:

[![Cato Surveillance Week image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-09/cato-surveillance-week-image.jpg?itok=Ojd9-l4E)](https://www.cato.org/events/federal-surveillance-reform-achievements-unfinished-business) 

##### October 7, 2024

#### [Federal Surveillance Reform: Achievements and Unfinished Business](https://www.cato.org/events/federal-surveillance-reform-achievements-unfinished-business)

Earlier this year, Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for two years. The final bill included provisions sought by civil liberties advocates, but some critical reforms didn’t make it into the final version.

[![Cato Surveillance Week image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-09/cato-surveillance-week-image.jpg?itok=Ojd9-l4E)](https://www.cato.org/events/state-local-law-enforcement-trends-policing-law-technology-surrounding-it) 

##### October 8, 2024

#### [State and Local Law Enforcement: Trends in Policing and the Law and Technology Surrounding It](https://www.cato.org/events/state-local-law-enforcement-trends-policing-law-technology-surrounding-it)

In the four years since nationwide protests against police misconduct rocked the nation, momentum for police reform has stalled.

[![Cato Surveillance Week image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-09/cato-surveillance-week-image.jpg?itok=Ojd9-l4E)](https://www.cato.org/events/government-surveillance-journalism-threat-landscape) 

##### October 10, 2024

#### [Government Surveillance and Journalism: The Threat Landscape](https://www.cato.org/events/government-surveillance-journalism-threat-landscape)

Journalists have been the targets of government surveillance, harassment, and violence for over a century—both in America and abroad.

[![Cato Surveillance Week image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2024-09/cato-surveillance-week-image.jpg?itok=Ojd9-l4E)](https://www.cato.org/events/human-vs-machine-promise-peril-artificial-intelligence-law-enforcement-context) 

##### December 6, 2024 (rescheduled from October 9)

#### [Human vs. Machine: The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence in the Law Enforcement Context](https://www.cato.org/events/human-vs-machine-promise-peril-artificial-intelligence-law-enforcement-context)

The development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) software for a range of applications has sparked intense debate over its implications for privacy and surveillance in multiple contexts.

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).