Restorethe First

Secure intake · encrypted in your browser · no analytics on this page

Have you seen it from the inside? Come forward.

If you worked at an agency, a platform, an AI lab, a contractor, a grantee, or a regulator and watched government pressure shape what Americans were allowed to say, the record needs what you know. This page exists so you can tell us safely.

Everything you type below is encrypted on your own device before it leaves it, using a public key that only the coalition’s designated custodian can unlock. The transport never sees plaintext. This page loads no analytics, no third-party fonts, and no trackers. We do not ask your name. Below the form is a live board of what we are actively looking for — and a plain account of what we can and cannot protect.

What we protect

  • Encryption before transmission. Your submission is encrypted in your browser (RSA-4096 + AES-256-GCM) to the coalition’s public key. The service that carries it stores only ciphertext.
  • One custodian. The private key is held offline by a single designated custodian who decrypts submissions with counsel present. It does not live on this website or any server.
  • Nothing published without written consent. We do not publish, quote, paraphrase, or characterize any submission without your explicit, written, revocable permission — in the form you choose.
  • No name required. You choose whether to include any way to reach you. If you do not, you can still follow up using your receipt code.
  • No trackers on this page. No analytics, no ad pixels, no external fonts. We do not store IP addresses with submissions.
  • Counsel referral. If you want a lawyer before you say more, we will connect you with First Amendment counsel in the coalition’s network for a confidential conversation.

What we cannot promise — read this

  • We are not your lawyer, and a submission here does not create an attorney–client relationship or legal privilege. If privilege matters to you, ask for the counsel referral first and submit through counsel.
  • Federal whistleblower protections are narrow and fact-specific. They generally attach to disclosures made to Congress, an Inspector General, or the Office of Special Counsel — not to a coalition or the press. Talk to a lawyer about sequencing.
  • Never send classified information, and do not send material you are under a lawful obligation not to disclose without first getting legal advice. Describe documents; do not upload them here.
  • We cannot protect you from your own device or network. Do not use a work computer, work phone, or work Wi-Fi. Consider a personal device on a personal connection, or Tor Browser.
  • Hosting logs exist. Our host records ordinary web-server logs like any site. We do not join them to submissions, but we cannot make them not exist.
  • Google carries the ciphertext. The encrypted blob is deposited via a form service. It sees an encrypted string and a timestamp, nothing else. If that is unacceptable to you, use one of the alternative channels below.

Choose your channel

Three ways in. Pick the one that matches your risk.

The encrypted form below is right for most people. If you are a current federal employee, hold a clearance, or are describing material you are not certain you may share, start with counsel.

01 · Lowest friction

The encrypted form

Fill it in below. Encrypted on your device; you receive a receipt code. Good for describing what you saw, who was involved, when, and what documents exist.

Go to the form ↓

02 · Ongoing conversation

Signal

End-to-end encrypted messaging, disappearing messages, and the ability to send files. Message the coalition’s intake line and say only that you are responding to the Come Forward page.

Signal: being provisioned

Number publishes here when live

03 · Highest protection

Counsel first

Ask us — through the form or Signal — for a referral to First Amendment counsel in the coalition’s network. A conversation with a lawyer is privileged in a way a conversation with us is not. Then submit through counsel.

Request a referral in the form ↓

The encrypted form

Tell us what you saw.

Write in your own words. You do not have to answer every field. Nothing you type is sent until you press the button, and when you do, only ciphertext leaves your browser.

Enough to tell us how you know what you know. No employer name is required.

Who was involved, what was asked or done, when, and how you came to know it. Specific dates, names of offices (not necessarily people), and the chain of communication are the most useful details.

What exists, in what form, and whether you have lawful access to it. We will arrange a secure transfer if appropriate — and we will tell you if we think you should not send something.

A Signal number, Proton address, or nothing at all.

Days, hours, time zone, or “never — I will check the board.”

Ready. Your browser supports the encryption this page uses.

Sent. Your receipt code:

Write it down and close this page. It is the only way to refer to this submission without identifying yourself. Acknowledgments by receipt code are posted on the board below. Nothing else about your submission will ever appear publicly.

The request board

What we are looking for right now.

Live · updated —

This is the coalition’s open list of evidence and testimony it is actively seeking. It is updated as requests are posted, narrowed, or fulfilled. It never lists what has been received. If one of these is yours, press Answer this request and the form above will be tagged for it.

Acknowledgments by receipt code

When submissions are received and reviewed, a one-line acknowledgment appears here by receipt code only — for example, RTF-K7Q2M · received · under counsel review. No content, no characterization, no timing detail beyond the week.

    The fine print, in plain language

    Who reads this. Submissions are decrypted by one designated custodian for the Restore the First coalition and reviewed with counsel. Coalition partner organizations do not have access to submissions and are not told about them unless you ask us to make an introduction.

    What we do with it. We use what you tell us to build the public record the courts have not reached — through congressional requests, FOIA, litigation support, and reporting — only in the way and at the time you authorize. You may withdraw consent at any point before publication.

    What we will not do. We will not pay for information. We will not ask you to take documents you do not lawfully possess. We will not contact you at a channel you did not give us. We will not confirm or deny to anyone, including partners and press, whether a particular person has been in touch.

    Retention. Ciphertext is retained until decrypted and then deleted from the transport service. Decrypted material is kept offline and destroyed at your request, subject to any legal hold we are required to honor — which we would tell you about.

    Questions before you submit. You can ask anything through the form itself with no other content, or through Signal once it is live. A question is not a submission and carries no obligation.