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Dragnets

Tracking Censorship and Surveillance

ProPublica investigates the threats to privacy in an era of cellphones, data mining and cyberwar, including how citizens are digitally tracked by governments and corporations.

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Dragnets

Verizon to Pay $1.35 Million to Settle Zombie Cookie Privacy Charges

The settlement is the latest sign that the FCC is stepping up privacy enforcement actions.

by Julia Angwin,

Dragnets

Verizon Will Now Let Users Kill Previously Indestructible Tracking Code

by Julia Angwin,

Dragnets

Zombie Cookies Slated to be Killed

by Julia Angwin and Mike Tigas,

73 stories published since 2012

I Ramped Up My Internet Security, and You Should Too

by Julia Angwin,

Verizon’s Zombie Cookie Gets New Life

by Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson,

6 Tips for Protecting Your Communications From Prying Eyes

by Julia Angwin,

New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding Spying

by Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson, ProPublica, Charlie Savage, The New York Times, and Henrik Moltke, special to ProPublica,

NSA Surveillance Lawsuit Tracker

by Kara Brandeisky,

Internet Censorship in China: We’ll Sing it for You

by Sisi Wei and Yue Qiu,

What's Really Happening with China's Great Firewall

by Sisi Wei,

Zombie Cookie: The Tracking Cookie That You Can't Kill

by Julia Angwin and Mike Tigas,

Inside the Firewall: Tracking the News That China Blocks

by Sisi Wei,

AT&T Stops Using Undeletable Phone Tracking IDs

by Julia Angwin,

Somebody's Already Using Verizon's ID to Track Users

by Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson,

NSA Documents Suggest a Close Working Relationship Between NSA, U.S. Companies

by Jeff Larson and Julia Angwin,

U.S. Company Helps Russia Block Prominent Putin Critic

by Sisi Wei,

Leaked Docs Show Spyware Used to Snoop on U.S. Computers

by Jeff Larson and Mike Tigas,

Meet the Online Tracking Device That is Virtually Impossible to Block

by Julia Angwin,

Here’s One Way to Land on the NSA’s Watch List

by Julia Angwin and Mike Tigas,

Privacy Tools: How to Block Online Tracking

by Hanqing Chen,

Podcast: Mapping the NSA's Spying

by Nicole Collins Bronzan,

FAQ For Our NSA Chart

by Julia Angwin,

No Warrant, No Problem: How the Government Can Get Your Digital Data

by Theodoric Meyer,

House Adopts Amendment to Bar NSA From Meddling With Encryption Standards

by Justin Elliott,

It’s Complicated: Facebook’s History of Tracking You

by Julia Angwin,

Why Online Tracking Is Getting Creepier

by Julia Angwin,

Privacy Tools: Encrypt What You Can

by Julia Angwin,

Weibo IPO Reveals a Company Struggling With Censorship

by ProPublica,

The U.S. Government: Paying to Undermine Internet Security, Not to Fix It

by Julia Angwin,

What the Proposed NSA Reforms Wouldn't Do

by Kara Brandeisky,

You Know Who Else Collected Metadata? The Stasi.

by Julia Angwin,

Podcast: What Your Smartphone Might Be Telling the NSA About You

by Minhee Cho,

Privacy Tools: Opting Out from Data Brokers

by Julia Angwin,

FAQ About NSA’s Interest in Angry Birds and Other ‘Leaky Apps’

by Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson,

Spy Agencies Probe Angry Birds and Other Apps for Personal Data

by Jeff Larson,

Privacy Tools: How to Build Better Passwords

by Julia Angwin,

Four Questionable Claims Obama Has Made on NSA Surveillance

by Kara Brandeisky,

Privacy Tools: How to Safely Browse the Web

by Julia Angwin,

Judge on NSA Case Cites 9/11 Report, But It Doesn't Actually Support His Ruling

by Justin Elliott,

Presidential Panel to NSA: Stop Undermining Encryption

by Justin Elliott,

Podcast: Spying with Avatars

by Nicole Collins Bronzan,

World of Spycraft: NSA and CIA Spied in Online Games

by Justin Elliott,

China’s Memory Hole: The Images Erased From Sina Weibo

by ProPublica,

新浪微博:遭遇中国式审查

by ProPublica,

How to Get Censored on China’s Twitter

by ProPublica,

ProPublica Motion Seeks Release of Court Rulings on NSA Spying

by Nicole Collins Bronzan,

NIST to Review Standards After Cryptographers Cry Foul Over NSA Meddling

by Jeff Larson,

Claim on “Attacks Thwarted” by NSA Spreads Despite Lack of Evidence

by Justin Elliott and Theodoric Meyer,

Government Standards Agency “Strongly” Suggests Dropping its Own Encryption Standard

by Jeff Larson and Justin Elliott,

Johns Hopkins and the Case of the Missing NSA Blog Post

by Jeff Larson and Justin Elliott,

Revealed: The NSA's Secret Campaign to Crack, Undermine Internet Security

by Jeff Larson,

Why We Published the Decryption Story

by Stephen Engelberg and Richard Tofel,

The Surveillance Reforms Obama Supported Before He Was President

by Kara Brandeisky,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

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