; Whereas Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2024 report marked the 18th consecutive year of decline in global freedom, with an estimated 38 percent of the global population living in countries deemed Not Free ; Whereas Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2023 report marked the 13th consecutive year of decline in global internet freedom, with people in 55 of the 70 countries covered facing legal repercussions for expressing themselves online and people in 41 countries facing physical assaults or death for their online commentary; Whereas infringement on freedom of expression, including media freedom, has been one of the key drivers of declines in global freedom over the last 50 years, including attacks and prosecutions against journalists, pressure on media outlets, repressive regulatory and legal frameworks, internet shutdowns, efforts to undermine strong encryption, and blocks on online sources of information; Whereas, over the last 18 years, the number of countries and territories receiving a 0 out of 4 on Freedom in the World’s media freedom indicator has dramatically grown from 14 to 36; Whereas journalists and media staff are being murdered, imprisoned, attacked, and harassed around the world, and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that— (1) at least 99 journalists and media workers were killed around the world in 2023, including 72 killed during the hostilities in Gaza starting October 7, 2023, and in addition, at least 18 journalists have been killed in 2024 as of March 5; (2) the vast majority of murders of journalists occur with impunity, with nearly 80 percent of the perpetrators of 261 murders of journalists from September 1, 2013, to August 31, 2023, facing no punishment; (3) 320 journalists were behind bars in 2023, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Burma, Belarus, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, Israel, Eritrea, Egypt, and Turkey jailing the highest numbers of journalists respectively