“There’s a Spy in the Newsroom”
As part of the DIACOMET project, a workshop and public conference were held to mark World Press Freedom Day. The event offered a unique opportunity to reflect on how digital surveillance challenges journalistic ethics, transparency, and the very foundations of civic trust — core concerns at the heart of DIACOMET.
On April 29, 2025, at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, the conference entitled “There’s a Spy in the Newsroom: Freedom of the Press and Digital Surveillance” [C’è una spia in redazione: Libertà di stampa e sorveglianza digitale] brought together key voices in journalism and digital rights. The debate, moderated by Anna Bernasconi (RSI, the Italian-language public service media), featured two leading experts:
Philip Di Salvo, Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, whose work explores the intersection of journalism, surveillance, and hacking,
Carola Frediani, journalist, cybersecurity specialist, and co-founder of Guerredirete.it, a platform dedicated to digital rights and security awareness.
The discussion shed light on the structural and technological threats undermining journalistic autonomy — from platform dependency to state and corporate surveillance — echoing DIACOMET’s broader mission to understand how communicative practices can foster or erode civic resilience.
Prior to the public conference, a workshop created a space for dialogue and critical reflection. Led by Philip Di Salvo, the workshop brought together students from the Journalism course taught by Prof. Colin Porlezza, part of the Bachelor’s program at USI, and participants from the Corso di giornalismo, a professional training program recognized for the official journalism diploma of Canton Ticino.
The workshop explored how future journalists can navigate an increasingly opaque and monitored digital environment. By framing surveillance not only as a technological issue but as a matter of ethical responsibility and communicative justice, the session embodied DIACOMET’s commitment to capacity building and participatory ethics.
This event was the result of a collaborative effort coordinated by Laura Amigo (DIACOMET project & USI), in partnership with Amnesty International, Associazione Ticinese dei Giornalisti, Corso di Giornalismo della Svizzera italiana, Fondazione Diritti Umani, Reporter senza Frontiere Svizzera, and Syndicom.
Speaker Biographies:
Carola Frediani: Cybersecurity awareness expert and journalist specialized in privacy, hacking, surveillance, and digital rights. She has written for leading Italian and international outlets and worked in the Global Security team at Amnesty International. She is currently part of the infosec team at Human Rights Watch. She also writes the weekly newsletter Guerre di Rete, which has grown into an independent platform, Guerredirete.it, co-founded with the association Cyber Saiyan.
Philip Di Salvo: Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. His work focuses on investigative journalism, internet surveillance, and the relationship between hacking and information. He has previously worked at the London School of Economics and the Università della Svizzera italiana. As a journalist, he contributes to several outlets on the social impact of technology and co-organizes the DIG Festival in Modena.