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 two advocacy groups.
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.
"They're not in general convinced that there is a chilling
effect of the sort that we were talking about," Mr. Sinha said,
adding that the officials believed that the continued appearance of
classified information in the news indicated that there was no
problem.
However, journalists covering intelligence, national security
and law enforcement who were quoted in the report said widespread
surveillance programs have intensified existing worries about the
Obama administration's crackdown on leakers. The administration has
attempted to minimize unauthorized leaks to the media through
increased leak prosecutions and rules issued in March that limit
contact between reporters and the intelligence community.
"What makes government better is our work exposing information.
It's not just that it's harder for me to do my job, though it is,"
said Dana Priest, a reporter for The Washington Post, quoted in the
report. "It makes the country less safe. Institutions work less
well, and increases the risk of corruption.... Secrecy works
against all of us."
Public officials are less willing to have contact with the media
than they were a few years ago, the report found. The surveillance
programs hinder government officials' ability to remain anonymous
when communicating with reporters, as phone calls and emails leave
a digital trace that could later be used against them. This climate
makes it harder for journalists to obtain and disseminate
information about government activities, the report said.
Government sources fear losing their security clearances, their
jobs, or being subject to criminal investigation, the study
said.
For lawyers, the study found that large-scale surveillance
programs endanger their ability to communicate confidentially with
clients, particularly when the U.S. takes an intelligence interest
in a case, and make it more challenging for lawyers to defend their
clients.
U.S. surveillance programs have been the subject of intensive
public debate following former leaks last year by former National
Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of classified NSA
information that revealed the extent of the web of government
spying on electronic communications.
As part of the debate, a coalition of 38 journalism groups and
open-government advocates sent a letter to President Barack Obama
earlier this month, saying that increasing limits on communication
between federal agency staff and journalists has hindered
reporters' ability to report freely.
Still, the Sept. 11 commission, which studied the 2001 terrorist
attacks, said in a new report last week that it supports the use of
NSA surveillance programs. The bipartisan panel reconvened for the
10th anniversary of its initial report and cautioned that the U.S.
faces a growing array of threats that the American public doesn't
appreciate.
The commission members criticized the government's failure to
"connect the dots," 10 years ago, so panelists support the
large-scale data collection and analysis programs, but said Mr.
Obama needs to defend their use to the public to ensure their
legitimacy.
Write to Felicia Schwartz at felicia.schwartz@wsj.com
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