By Felicia Schwartz
WASHINGTON--Large-scale U.S. surveillance programs hinder the
ability of journalists to communicate confidentially with sources
and restrain lawyers from adequately representing clients,
according to a report issued Monday by a human rights advocacy
group and a civil liberties group.
As a result, journalists and lawyers both face challenges--both
to their ability to disseminate information and to hold the U.S.
government accountable--said the report by Human Rights Watch and
the American Civil Liberties Union. The groups said the
government's "massively powerful surveillance apparatus" limits and
jeopardizes the privacy required by both groups.
"Journalists and their sources, as well as lawyers and their
clients, are changing their behavior in ways that undermine basic
rights and corrode democratic processes," it said.
The report is based on 92 interviews, including 46 with
journalists, 42 with attorneys and five with current or former
senior government officials.
The government officials interviewed provide a counterpoint to
the conclusions of the report, consistent in their view that the
surveillance programs are legal and vital to national security,
said Alex Sinha, author of the report and a fellow at Human Rights
Watch. The government officials didn't see the harm posed by
large-scale surveillance programs.
(More to Come.)
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