Restoring U.S. Press Freedom Leadership A proposal to the incoming Biden administration from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Introduction

he Committee to Protect Journalists is an indepen- • Release of imprisoned journalists in Vietnam, dent, nonprofit organization that promotes press Ethiopia, and Egypt Tfreedom worldwide. Founded in 1981, we defend the right • Protection of journalists working for U.S. outlets (Vice of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of President Biden raised concerns with Chinese lead- reprisal. ership about the treatment of American journalists CPJ and our partners recognize the powerful role that the there) United States has played historically in supporting press • Defense and promotion of a free and open internet, in- freedom around the world. !e Trump administration’s cluding successfully opposing efforts by China to bring hostility toward the press has contributed to the current internet governance under UN control wave of global media repression, including the record numbers of journalists imprisoned. !e Biden administra- • Creation of international institutions, including the tion has a chance to restore U.S. leadership, improve the special rapporteurs for freedom of expression of the flow of information within countries and across borders, United Nations and the Organization of American advance democracy and freedom, bolster open markets, States. protect human rights, and reduce conflict. !at task is urgent, critical and demanding, but can begin with a few The Trump Administration’s Press Freedom Record simple but highly visible steps that include speaking out forcefully in defense of press freedom and empowering resident Trump’s persistent, aggressive, person- U.S. diplomats to do the same. !e new administration Palized attacks on individual journalists and the should also create a new, temporary position of Special media as an institution was a defining feature of his Presidential Envoy For Press Freedom. presidency. While President Trump failed to realize his most dangerous proposals — such as jailing journalists Background: Press Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy or “making it easier” to sue them for libel — his language corroded public trust in the media. President Trump’s dis- he defense of press freedom has been a cornerstone dain for expertise and his attacks on journalists’ credibil- of U.S. foreign policy since WWII. !e U.S. gov- ity have had a particularly devastating impact during the Ternment has promoted and funded independent media COVID-19 pandemic, when access to trusted information around the world; publicly defended journalists and news is a matter of life and death. outlets under threat; disseminated credible news and President Trump’s rhetoric has done tremendous damage information in censored societies via U.S-government outside the U.S., where autocrats and dictators have de- funded media; and promoted and defended the internet nounced critical media as “fake news” while jailing record as a shared global system of information. !e U.S. also led numbers of journalists. A group of by example. !e robust, pluralistic, journalists from Brazil, Pakistan, and independent domestic media, India, Tanzania, and Nicaragua protected by the First Amendment “A free press is necessary who were honored by CPJ for their and a political culture that tolerat- to understand and resolve courage told Vice President Mike ed and even encouraged aggressive complex geopolitical issues.” Pence during a 2019 White House reporting, has been the envy of meeting that President Trump’s journalists everywhere. U.S.-based actions had emboldened their leaders to crack down on media report news not just for Americans, but for the en- domestic media. !e Trump administration also failed to tire world. !eir stories shape global perceptions and help offer a robust defense of American journalists or media set the international agenda. organizations under threat. U.S. officials failed to take ap- • History backs our firm belief that in the realm of press propriate or effective action when New York Times report- freedom, the U.S. is the indispensable nation. In recent ers faced arrest in Egypt, or when China expelled dozens years, U.S. policies and actions have produced these of reporters from leading U.S. outlets. !e most egregious outcomes: https://cpj.org [email protected] 212-465-1004 failure of the Trump administration to stand up for press confront its adversaries, but also challenge its friends. freedom was its response to the murder of Washington A free press is necessary to understand and resolve com- Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. plex geopolitical issues. Championing press freedom is of An Opportunity for the Biden Administration tremendous importance to journalists in this country and around the world, as well as to businesses, immigrants, y designating the promotion and protection of press and ethnic communities in the U.S. !e U.S. media com- freedom as a focus of U.S. foreign policy, President munity expects the government to stand up for American BBiden has the opportunity to restore American influ- journalists when they are imprisoned or taken hostage. ence in a critical area; improve the flow of information Recent examples include freelance journalists James Foley to advance U.S. strategic, political, and economic in- and Steven Sotloff, killed in Syria in 2014; Jason Rezaian, terests and those of its democratic allies; and ensure jailed in Iran from July 2014 to January 2016; and Austin the internet remains a shared global resource. However, Tice, unaccounted for after being detained in Syria more this can only be achieved if defense of press freedom is than eight years ago. a matter of principle, and not expediency. America must

Recommendations !e Committee to Protect Journalists makes the following recommendations to the incoming Biden administration:

have corrupted the information environment and un- Make a major speech in dermined public trust, and commit to working with support of press freedom. all stakeholders to find solutions. !e President should President Biden should articulate the importance champion the most courageous reporters who have of press freedom in U.S. foreign policy, placing that risked their lives to report the truth, such as Filipi- commitment in the broader context of support for na-American journalist Maria Ressa, and should pursue democracy, human rights, and political freedom. !e justice for journalists imprisoned or killed, including President should recognize the critical role that jour- U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal nalists play in providing trusted, accurate and timely Khashoggi, murdered by a Saudi government hit squad information, which people everywhere need in order to in October 2018. U.S. intelligence agencies should make hold their leaders accountable, particularly in the midst public their findings on the Khashoggi murder, and of a pandemic. !e President should recognize that the anyone found to have played a role in the crime should social media companies also play a vital role, but that be subject to targeted sanctions. toxic speech, misinformation, and online harassment

Act to prosecute journalists or whistleblowers. !ese Strengthen and support press long-standing concerns of CPJ and the press freedom freedom domestically to set an community were also raised during the Obama ad- example for the world. ministration. President Biden should support efforts to ensure that attacks on journalists covering the recent !e Biden administration should work directly with a wave of protests in this country are fully investigated coalition of press freedom groups, including CPJ and and those responsible are held to account. (!e U.S. the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Press Freedom Tracker is documenting more than 900 to address a broad range of domestic press freedom such incidents, the majority of them perpetrated by law concerns including the aggressive prosecution of leak- enforcement.) Finally, the administration should recog- ers, the harassment of journalists at U.S. borders, and nize that the collapse of local and community media, the over-classification of information. President Biden along with public interest and accountability journal- should commit to an open and transparent adminis- ism, poses a threat to American democracy. !e Biden tration that supports Freedom of Information requests, administration should support the search for financial backs Justice Department guidelines that protect confi- solutions that make journalism sustainable. dential sources, and pledges never to use the Espionage Under the Biden administration, the U.S. should rejoin Participate in and support interna- the U.N. Human Rights Council; restore U.S. member- tional governmental organizations ship and funding to UNESCO; and support the work that defend press freedom. of the special rapporteurs of the United Nations, OSCE and the Organization of American States.

empowering ambassadors and other diplomats to take Strengthen State Department appropriate measures. It should work with Congress support for press freedom. to create an Office of Press Freedom within the State !e Biden administration should seek to rebuild the Department. It should develop and implement a press State Department institutions that have traditionally freedom curriculum at the Foreign Service Institute. It supported press freedom. !e record of its nominee should strengthen reporting on press freedom for the for Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights annual State Department human rights reports, in com- and Labor should include support for press freedom. pliance with the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, and !e incoming administration should send a directive integrate protection of journalists and freedom of infor- to U.S. embassies around the world indicating that the mation into broader departmental programming. defense of press freedom is a foreign policy priority, and

Biden administration should ensure that the leadership Ensure the independence of U.S. of the U.S. Agency for Global Media is committed to government-funded media. editorial independence and the safety of the staff. !e U.S. government-funded media — including Voice of leadership of the USAGM must also be committed to America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio supporting a free and open internet through effective Liberty — have been a source of credible news and infor- management of the Open Technology Fund. mation for people around the world for generations. !e

Khashoggi, work to free imprisoned journalists, attend Appoint a Special Presidential trials, and take other actions as directed by the President Envoy for Press Freedom. or Secretary of State — all while the administration !e president should immediately appoint a high profile works to rebuild the State Department institutions that individual, preferably an American journalist with a traditionally support journalism and press freedom. In track record of defending the press, as the Special Pres- order to ensure such institutions are not undermined, idential Envoy for Press Freedom, reporting to the Sec- the Special Presidential Envoy should serve in a tran- retary of State and empowered to speak out about viola- sitional role for a single, non-renewable two-year term, tions around the world. !e Envoy should stand up for until the State Department resumes the capacity to play U.S. journalists and media organizations facing threats its historic role. and harassment, pursue justice in the murder of Jamal

To speak with a CPJ representative about these recommendations, please contact:

Courtney Radsch Michael De Dora Tom Gibson Advocacy Director Washington Advocacy Manager Brussels Advocacy Manager [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] https://cpj.org [email protected] 212-465-1004