Privacy Under Pressure (With Harlo Holmes)

February 23, 2026·45 min·4 clips

There's a secret gesture on your phone that can instantly disable biometrics and protect you from forced unlocking.

Harlo Holmes, Chief Security Programs Officer at Freedom of the Press Foundation, discusses the urgent need for digital security as press freedom faces mounting threats. The Foundation operates through three main areas: advocacy and legal support for journalists, technical tools like SecureDrop for anonymous source communication, and security training for newsrooms. Holmes explains practical security trade-offs people face, such as choosing between biometric convenience and passcode protection when phones might be seized by authorities. She details emergency gestures that can instantly disable biometrics and encrypt devices. The conversation explores how attitudes toward digital security vary politically across cultures, with Europeans increasingly embracing open-source alternatives while Americans have historically maintained optimism about technology solutions. Holmes notes the loss of truly anonymous online spaces that once allowed young people to explore identity safely. Recent FBI raids on journalists, including Washington Post reporter Hannah Nathanson, demonstrate how international surveillance tools like iPhone's lockdown mode have become essential for domestic press protection. The discussion covers the particular vulnerabilities faced by Black journalists and other marginalized communities, emphasizing how protections for the most at-risk benefit everyone. Holmes addresses digital security nihilism while maintaining cautious optimism about finding ways around increasing surveillance and censorship. The episode highlights the political nature of privacy, the importance of situational security awareness, and the ongoing fight to preserve spaces for private communication and press freedom.

As heard by us

A sharp privacy conversation that keeps the pressure immediate without flattening the tradeoffs.

Privacy is treated here as an active problem, not a slogan. Harlow Holmes of the Freedom of the Press Foundation walks through what it takes to protect journalists while surveillance, platform hegemony, and political pressure keep tightening.

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Why you'd press play

You want a clear map of why privacy and press freedom feel like frontline issues right now.

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