Report says US surveillance hampering journalists

Revelations over the past few years about how US security officials have the ability to track people through phone, email and other electronic records are making it harder for journalists to report on what the government is doing, two human rights groups say.
Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report issued Monday that access to data as detailed in leaks by former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden, coupled with the Obama administration's prosecution of people for leaking classified information, is having a chilling effect on reporters.
The groups are calling on the administration to be more upfront about the data it is collecting and how the information is used, and to increase protections for journalists and whistleblowers.

The same government access to information is eroding the ability of lawyers to protect the confidentiality of its contacts with criminal defendants, the report concludes.
Ninety-two people, including 46 journalists, 42 lawyers and some present or retired national security officials, were interviewed for the report.
While journalists aren't being prosecuted for doing their jobs, news about the scope and type of information available to the government has forced many journalists to change how they work, said Alex Sinha, the report's author.

Several say that fewer sources are willing to talk to them because they fear the consequences, he said.
Reporters are turning to encryption technology that scrambles electronic communication with sources, although they worry the mere fact the government knows they are using encryption will raise suspicions. To counter monitoring of cellphones, some say they use throwaway phones.

One reporter said he calls many sources at the time of a big story, just to protect the identity of the ones he used. Face-to-face contact is increasingly preferred.
One reporter, ABC's Brian Ross, said he's been tipped to say, "I'm a US citizen, are you?" at the beginning of mobile phone conversations because of a legal prohibition against monitoring calls by citizens.
It all contributes to drying up the flow of information, journalists said. "People have to work harder, it takes longer, and you ... Won't have as many stories," Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, said in the report.