MEDIA ADVISORY: CPJ to publish comprehensive report on the threat to journalism posed by zero-click spyware

New York — On Thursday, October 13 the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will publish a report on the global impact of malicious spyware on journalism. Coming one year after the Pegasus Papers first shed light on the scale and scope of how one company’s software was weaponized by government officials to target journalists, the new report, “Zero-Click Spyware: Enemy of the Press,” offers an in-depth examination of the existential threat that surveillance technologies pose to journalists, their sources — and to journalism on the whole.

The report includes a global overview of spyware and how it’s used against journalists, as well as four case studies from India, Mexico, Hungary, and Morocco. Each provides first-hand accounts from journalists, digital privacy advocates, and others who were themselves targeted by spyware. The report also includes an opinion column by David Kaye, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on what he recommends global leaders should do to stop the abuse of spyware. 

The final piece offers concrete policy recommendations from CPJ experts to governments, corporate entities, and international human rights organizations to combat the arbitrary or unlawful deployment of spyware.

The full report will be available on Thursday, October 13 at 5:00am ET at: https://cpj.org/spyware-press-freedom

If you would like to speak with a CPJ expert about the report or about spyware’s impact on journalism more broadly, please contact Adam Peck at cpj@westendstrategy.com or at +1 202-531-6408.