https://freedom.press​ @FreedomOfPress San Francisco, CA December 14, 2016 Public Relations Department Corporate Communications Division Canon One Canon Park Melville, NY 11747 Dear Canon, We, the undersigned documentary filmmakers and photojournalists, are writing to urge your company to build encryption features into your still photo and video camera products. These features, which are currently missing from all commercial cameras on the market, are needed to protect our safety and security, as well as that of our sources and subjects worldwide. Without encryption capabilities, photographs and footage that we take can be examined and searched by the police, military, and border agents in countries where we operate and travel, and the consequences can be dire. We work in some of the most dangerous parts of the world, often attempting to uncover wrongdoing in the interests of justice. On countless occasions, filmmakers and photojournalists have seen their footage seized by authoritarian governments or criminals all over the world. Because the contents of their cameras are not and cannot be encrypted, there is no way to protect any of the footage once it has been taken. This puts ourselves, our sources, and our work at risk. Many technology companies have in recent years embraced encryption technology, often including it in their products and enabling it by default. Indeed, encryption has, in some sectors, become an industry-best practice. Apple’s iPhones encrypt all data stored on them by default, as do many phones running Google’s Android operating system; text messages and voice calls made with WhatsApp, iMessage, FaceTime, and Signal are all protected using end-to-end encryption technology; and laptops and desktop computers running modern versions of Microsoft Windows and macOS encrypt all data stored by default too. However, we face a critical gap between the moment we shoot our footage and the first opportunity to get that footage onto more secure devices. As filmmakers and photojournalists who value our own safety and the safety of our sources and subjects, we would seek out and buy cameras that come with built-in encryption. Adding these data security features to your product line would give your company a significant competitive advantage over other camera manufacturers, none of whom currently offer this feature. Beyond the commercial motivation for adding encryption features, we know your company has commendably committed to corporate social responsibility. Building encryption into your products is not just about helping the filmmakers and photojournalists who buy them, but about making the world a better place. As filmmakers and photojournalists, we use our lenses to hold powerful people to account — and ultimately to change society for the better. Encryption features will allow us to continue to tell the most important stories, from some of the most dangerous places in the world. You can help us reach that goal by starting to work towards building encryption into your camera products. Thank you for your consideration. Signed, Over ​150​ Filmmakers, Photographers, and Media Workers Around the World Lynsey Addario​, Photojournalist, ​Freelance Avi S. Adelman​, Photojournalist/Editor, ​TheRightToPhotographInPublic.com Cecilia Aldarondo​, Assistant Professor of Film, ​Skidmore College Chase Alexander​, Filmmaker, ​Freelance Ra'anan Alexandrowicz​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Alejandro Álvarez Cadilla​, Director/Cinematographer, ​Independent Anthony Arnove​, Producer, ​Independent Craig Atkinson​, Documentary Filmmaker / ​Director, Vanish Films Barbara Attie,​ Documentary Filmmaker, ​Attie & Goldwater Productions Julia Bacha​, Creative Director, ​Just Vision Joslyn Barnes​, Filmmaker, ​Louverture Films Amy Benson​, Filmmaker, Independent, ​Nonfiction Media Amy Berg​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Pietra Brettkelly​, Documentary Director/Producer, ​Independent Emad Burnat​, Filmmaker/Director/Producer, ​Independent Bruni Burres​, Senior Consultant/DFP, ​Sundance Rebecca Cammisa​, Director, ​Documentress Films Gloria Carrión Fonseca​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Peggy Case​, Producer, ​Independent Carlos Cazalis​, Documentary Photographer, ​Freelance Leyland Cecco​, Photojournalist/Filmmaker, ​Independent Jessica Chermayeff​, Producer/Director, ​Independent Michael Christopher Brown​, Photographer, ​Magnum Photos Brenda Coughlin​, Producer, ​Praxis Films Eric Daniel Metzgar​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Amlan Datta​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Guy Davidi​, Filmmaker/Director/Producer, ​Independent Jessica Devaney​, Producer, ​Independent Romona S. Diaz​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​CineDiaz, Inc. Peter Dicamp​, Photographer/Co-founder, ​Everyday Africa and ​The Everyday Projects Anita Doron​, Filmmaker/TED Fellow, ​Independent Sara Dosa​, Producer/Director,​ Signpost Pictures Andrew Droz Palermo​, Director/Cinematographer, ​Independent Sandi DuBowski​, Director, ​Films That Change The World Negin Farsad​, Filmmaker/Comedian, ​Independent Kristen Feeley​, Labs and Artist Support Director ​Sundance David Felix Sutcliffe​, Nonfiction Filmmaker, ​Independent Field of Vision Clayton Filipowicz​, Videographer, ​Independent Patrick Forbes​, Director of Documentaries, ​Oxford Film Jošt Franko​, Photographer, ​Freelance Morgan J. Freeman​, Filmmaker/Founder, ​11th Street Productions Pedro G. García​, Documentary Editor, ​Independent Christy Garland​, Director, ​MurmurMedia Megan Gelstein​, Senior Program Director, ​Catapult Film Fund Howard Gertler​, Producer, ​Independent Alex Gibney​, Filmmaker, ​Jigsaw Productions Jim Goldberg​, Photographer, ​Magnum Photos Linda Goldstein Knowlton​, Filmmaker/Director/Producer, ​Skylight and ​Directors Guild of America Fred Grace​, Producer, ​Fat Rat Films Christopher Gregory​, Photographer, ​Freelance Mark Grieco​, Documentary Filmmaker/Director/Photographer, ​Independent David Gross​, Photojournalist, ZUMA Press, ​Freelance Katey Grusovin​, Producer/Director/Writer, ​Independent Irene Gutiérrez​, Executive Producer/Director/Filmmaker, ​Independent Dean Hamer​, Director, Qwaves Films Kiana Hayeri​, Photojournalist/Freelance, ​Freelance NC Heikin​, Director, ​Independent Matthew Heineman​, Filmmaker/Director/Producer, ​Independent Seth Herald​, Photojournalist,​ ZUMA Press Tom Hurwitz​, Director/Producer, ​American Society of Cinematographers Cristina Ibarra​, Filmmaker, ​Independent International Documentary Association Alina Ioana Vasillu​, Journalist, ​Constan a noastr (Romania) Mai Iskander​, Director/Cinematographer, ​Iskander Films Niam Itani​, Producer, ​Placeless Films Tabitha Jackson​, Director and DFP, ​Sundance Kirsten Johnson​, Filmmaker/Cinematographer, ​Independent Judy Karp​, Sound Recordist, ​Independent Deborah Kaufman​, Filmmaker,​ Snitow-Kaufman Productions Mark Kendall​,​ Follow Your Nose Films Sonia Kennebeck​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Gelareh Kiazand​, Videographer/Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Simon Kilmurry​, Executive Director,​ International Documentary Association Geoff King​, Photojournalist, ​Independent Alison Klayman​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Vivian Kleiman​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Brian Knappenberger​, Writer/Director, ​Luminant Media Adi Lavy​, Documentary & New Media Director, ​Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum Rob Lemkin​, Filmmaker, ​Old Street Films Elisa Levine​, Director, ​Out of Frame Films James Longley​, Filmmaker, ​Daylight Factory Avram Ludwig​, Producer Asa Mader​, Filmmaker Anne Makepeace​, Director/Producer, ​Makepeace Productions Jeff Malmberg​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Margarita L Martinez​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Matthew Matthew Lawrence​, Photographer, ​Independent Daniel McCabe​, Director/Cinematographer/Photographer, ​Independent Susan Meiselas​, Photographer, ​Magnum Photos Arturo Mendicuti​ ​Barroeta​, Filmmaker, ​Caribou Films Flannery Miller​, Producer/Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Gabriel Miller​, Director/DP, ​Kindred Media Ioana Moldoveanu​, Editor-in-Chief, ​VICE Romania Jake Naughton​, Photojournalist, ​Independent Khaliah Neal​, Producer, ​Independent Minette Nelson​, Co-founder, ​The Filmmaker Fund Bao Nguyen​, Director/Cinematographer, ​Independent Mona Nicoara​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Orwa Nyrabia​,​ ​filmmaker,​ ​No Nation Films Ed Ou​, Photojournalist, ​Getty Images Trevor Paglen​, Photojournalist, ​Independent Heloísa Passos​, Cinematographer/Filmmaker, ​Independent Sierra Pettengill​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Esther Podemski​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Laura Poitras​, Filmmaker, ​Field of Vision PJ Raval​, Filmmaker/Cinematographer, ​Independent Jeff Reichert​, Director/Producer, ​Independent Geoffrey Richman​, Documentary Film Editor Jed Riffe​, Producer/Director/Writer/Transmedia Storyteller, ​Jed Riffe Films + Electronic Media Marcia Rock​, Director, News & Documentary, ​NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute Richard Rowley​, Executive Producer, ​Divided Films Bernardo Ruiz​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Quiet Pictures Ashley Sabin​, Filmmaker, ​Carnivalesque Films Holen Sabrina Kahn​, Filmmaker, ​Independent David Sampliner​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Carlos Sandoval​, Filmmaker, ​Camino Bluff Productions, Inc. Garret Savage​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Justin Schein​, Producer/Director/DP, ​Shadowbox Films Inc. Andréa Schmidt​, Journalist / Filmmaker, ​Independent Nancy Schwartzman​, Documentary Filmmaker App-Founder, ​Independent Martha Shane​, Director and Producer, ​Independent Chuck Shultz​, Documentarian, ​BluePrint Productions Marc Silver​, Director / DP / Creative Director, ​Independent Douglas Sloan​, Director,​ Icontent Films Kathryn Smith Pyle​, Filmmaker, ​Independent Alan Snitow​, Filmmaker, ​Snitow-Kaufman Productions James Spione​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Scott Squire​, Filmmaker, Independent, ​Nonfiction Media Christopher St. John​, Producer, ​Charlotte Street Films Josh Stearns​, Documentary Producer and Director, ​Independent Brett Story​, Director and Filmmaker, ​Independent Aiden J. Sullivan​, Founder and CEO, ​Verbatim Photo Agency Jon-Michael Sullivan​, Photojournalist, ​Independent Johnny Symons​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent/Persistent Visions Saeed Taji Farouky​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Independent Rahdi Taylor​, Film Fund Director, ​Sundance Jennifer Taylor​, Producer and Director,​ Specific Pictures Mircea Toma​, President, ​ActiveWatch Joel Van Haren​, Director of Photography, ​Freelance Rosadel Varela​, Producer, ​Independent John Vink​, Photographer, ​Magnum Photos Sweta Vohra​, Television Producer, ​Al Jazeera International Orlando von Einsiedel​, Director, ​Grain Media Anat Vovnoboy​, Documentary Director, ​Independent Matthew Weigand​, Photojournalist, ​Independent Ryan White​, Filmmaker, ​Tripod ​Media Alex Winter​, Director, ​Independent Pamela Yates​, Creative Director, ​Skylight Amy Ziering​, Documentary Filmmaker, ​Chain Camera Pictures Malika Zouhali-Worral​, Director and Editor, ​Independent Abbas​, Photographer, ​Magnum Photos