How free is our freedom of the press? | Trevor Timm

譯者: 易帆 余 審譯者: Lydia Yu

So this is James Risen.

這位是詹姆士．瑞森。

You may know him as the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter

各位可能認識他， 因為他是普利茲獎得主，

for The New York Times.

兼紐約時報的記者。

Long before anybody knew Edward Snowden's name,

在大家還沒聽過愛德華．斯諾登 這個名字的時候，

Risen wrote a book in which he famously exposed

瑞森因為寫了一本揭露 美國國家安全局非法竊聽

that the NSA was illegally wiretapping the phone calls of Americans.

美國民眾通話的書 而備受矚目。

But it's another chapter in that book

但書中的另一章節，

that may have an even more lasting impact.

可能有著更深遠的影響。

In it, he describes a catastrophic US intelligence operation

在這一章節中，他描述了美國情報部門 的一次災難性的行動，

in which the CIA quite literally handed over blueprints

裡面提到，美國中情局 幾乎將整個核彈

of a nuclear bomb to Iran.

的設計藍圖奉送給了伊朗。

If that sounds crazy, go read it.

如果這聽起來很瘋狂， 你就去讀看看吧。

It's an incredible story.

這是一個驚人的故事。

But you know who didn't like that chapter?

但各位曉得誰不喜歡 這一個章節嗎？

The US government.

美國政府。

For nearly a decade afterwards,

在這之後的十年，

Risen was the subject of a US government investigation

瑞森成了美國政府 調查監控的對象，

in which prosecutors demanded that he testify

檢方要求他，

against one of his alleged sources.

對他所說的消息來源 提出不利於線人的證據。

And along the way, he became the face for the US government's recent pattern

這一路來，他變成了 美國政府最近

of prosecuting whistleblowers and spying on journalists.

起訴告密者及監控記者行為 的最佳代言人。

You see, under the First Amendment,

各位看，第一條修正案中提到，

the press has the right to publish secret information in the public interest.

為了公眾利益，媒體有 播報秘密資訊的權利。

But it's impossible to exercise that right if the media can't also gather that news

但根本不可能落實這項權利， 因為媒體無法收集這些新聞，

and protect the identities of the brave men and women

並保護勇敢

深入調查的線人的身份。

who get it to them.

So when the government came knocking,

所以當政府人員找上門的時候，

Risen did what many brave reporters have done before him:

瑞森像之前勇敢的記者一樣，

he refused

他拒絕透露任何信息，

and said he'd rather go to jail.

他說他寧願坐牢。

So from 2007 to 2015,

所以從 2007 年到 2015 年，

Risen lived under the specter of going to federal prison.

瑞森在政府監控下 開始了聯邦監獄的生活。

That is, until just days before the trial, when a curious thing happened.

就在審判前幾天 奇怪的事情發生了。

Suddenly, after years of claiming it was vital to their case,

政府在這幾年宣稱 這個案子對他們很重要，

the government dropped their demands to Risen altogether.

但突然間，政府停止了 所有對瑞森的要求，

It turns out, in the age of electronic surveillance,

原來，在電子監控的年代，

there are very few places reporters and sources can hide.

記者和線人幾乎無處可躲。

And instead of trying and failing to have Risen testify,

與其一次次要求瑞森舉證 又被一次次拒絕，

they could have his digital trail testify against him instead.

政府選擇用他的電子記錄 來做為他的不利證明。

So completely in secret and without his consent,

在完全機密且 未經同意的情況下，

prosecutors got Risen's phone records.

檢方拿到了瑞森的通話記錄。

They got his email records, his financial and banking information,

他們有他的 email 紀錄， 他的財務狀況與銀行資訊，

his credit reports,

他的信用報告，

even travel records with a list of flights he had taken.

甚至他搭飛機 旅行的紀錄清單。

And it was among this information that they used to convict Jeffrey Sterling,

而這些資料，讓檢方認定 杰弗瑞．斯特林

Risen's alleged source and CIA whistleblower.

就是瑞森的消息來源 也是中情局的告發者。

Sadly, this is only one case of many.

很遺憾，這只是 眾多事件的其中一件。

President Obama ran on a promise to protect whistleblowers,

雖然歐巴馬總統一再地 承諾要保護告密者，

and instead, his Justice Department has prosecuted more

但他的法務部門卻已經起訴了

than all other administrations combined.

比其它行政部門 加起來還要多的人。

Now, you can see how this could be a problem,

現在，各位可以體會到 這將會是個大問題，

especially because the government considers so much of what it does secret.

尤其當政府對於他們的 機密如此重視的時候。

Since 9/11, virtually every important story about national security

自從 911 之後，幾乎所有 關於國家安全的重大新聞

has been the result of a whistleblower coming to a journalist.

都是由線人提供給記者的。

So we risk seeing the press unable to do their job

因為政府的監控行為 遍及到所有人身上，

that the First Amendment is supposed to protect

所以我們看到新聞界不敢行使

because of the government's expanded ability to spy on everyone.

第一修正案賦予他們的權利。

But just as technology has allowed the government

不過正如科技讓政府可以

to circumvent reporters' rights,

侵犯記者們的權利，

the press can also use technology

比起以前，新聞界也可以利用科技

to protect their sources even better than before.

更安全地保護他們的線人。

And they can start from the moment they begin speaking with them,

而且保護幾乎是從 第一時間的談話就開始了，

rather than on the witness stand after the fact.

而不是等到事情發生 站上法庭當證人的時候。

Communications software now exists

現在很多通訊軟體

that wasn't available when Risen was writing his book,

是瑞森寫他的書時 所沒有的，

and is much more surveillance-resistant than regular emails or phone calls.

而且反監視能力 比常規的email和電話好很多。

For example, one such tool is SecureDrop,

比如，有一款叫做 SecureDrop的軟體，

an open-source whistleblower submission system

這是一款開放資源的 檢舉揭發系統，

that was originally created by the late Internet luminary Aaron Swartz,

由一位已故的網路大師 亞倫．斯沃茨所創造的，

and is now developed at the non-profit where I work,

它現由我工作的地方 新聞自由基金會

Freedom of the Press Foundation.

以非營利的方式開發使用。

Instead of sending an email,

不同於傳統發郵件的方式，

you go to a news organization's website,

你可以去某個新聞機構的網站，

like this one here on The Washington Post.

比如這裡的華盛頓郵報。

From there, you can upload a document or send information

在這裡，你可以 上傳文件或發送訊息，

much like you would on any other contact form.

就像用其他方式傳遞訊息一樣。

It'll then be encrypted and stored on a server

訊息之後會被加密 存放在伺服器中，

that only the news organization has access to.

只有新聞機構的人可以查看。

So the government can no longer secretly demand the information,

所以政府再也無法 秘密追踪這些信息，

and much of the information they would demand

就算追踪到了信息

wouldn't be available in the first place.

也不知道該訊息 最初是來自哪裡。

SecureDrop, though, is really only a small part of the puzzle

SecureDrop雖然只是 21世紀保護媒體自由

for protecting press freedom in the 21st century.

的一塊小小的拼圖。

Unfortunately, governments all over the world

很不幸地，世界各國的政府

are constantly developing new spying techniques

也無時無刻不在 開發新的監視技術

that put us all at risk.

讓我們暴露在風險下。

And it's up to us going forward to make sure

讓我一起努力向前，來確保

that it's not just the tech-savvy whistleblowers,

那些高科技告發者的安全，

like Edward Snowden, who have an avenue for exposing wrongdoing.

像斯諾登那樣，擁有自己 揭露惡行的管道來源。

It's just as vital that we protect the next veteran's health care whistleblower

同樣也一樣重要的，也要保護 那些提醒我們醫院過於擁擠，

alerting us to overcrowded hospitals,

揭發退伍老兵 醫療衛生問題的告發者，

or the next environmental worker

保護那些對弗林特市污水，

sounding the alarm about Flint's dirty water,

敲響警鐘的環衛工人，

or a Wall Street insider

保護那些警告我們

warning us of the next financial crisis.

下一次金融危機的華爾街線人。

After all, these tools weren't just built to help the brave men and women

畢竟，這些工具並不只是保護

勇敢揭露罪行的男男女女。

who expose crimes,

but are meant to protect all of our rights under the Constitution.

也是保護我們所有人在憲法上 基本權力的工具。

Thank you.

謝謝各位！

(Applause)

（掌聲）