EFF Statement on Glenn Greenwald Charges

EFF is dismayed to learn of the decision by Brazilian prosecutors to charge journalist Glenn Greenwald under the country’s computer crime law.

EFF has long warned that cybersecurity laws in the Americas have been written and interpreted so broadly as to invite misuse. Computer crime laws should never be used to criminalize legitimate journalistic practice.  Prosecutors should be cautious to apply them without considering the chilling effects on the free press, and the risk of politicized prosecutions.

In free societies, journalists play an important role in challenging and criticizing governmental officials and scrutinizing their actions and policies. It is a threat to democracy when authorities use cybercrime laws to punish their critics, as the Brazilian government has done here with Glenn Greenwald, and it discourages journalists from using technology to best serve the public.