Litigation
The Institute defends the freedoms of speech and of the press through strategic litigation designed to have a meaningful impact on the law, on public policy, and on public opinion. We litigate cases that have the potential to establish important new legal principles concerning the system of free expression, to influence the practices of powerful actors in that system, and to raise public awareness about contemporary structural threats to that system. We focus especially on complex and challenging cases that relate to new technology, including new communications platforms, and we favor cases that afford us the opportunity to draw on insights generated by our research program.
Our litigation prioritizes cases in our three focus areas, Free Speech & Social Media, Transparency & Democracy, and Privacy & Surveillance.
Featured
The Foundation for Global Political Exchange v. Department of the Treasury
A case challenging OFAC’s suppression of the exchange of political ideas
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
New Lawsuit Seeks to Wrestle Control of Newsfeed from Meta for Facebook Users
Knight Institute and Ethan Zuckerman say Section 230 does more than immunize the platforms, also protects user-friendly tools
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Press Statement
Office of Legal Counsel Ordered to Release Many of Its Legal Opinions
Landmark ruling is a victory for transparency and accountability
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Press Statement
Federal Judge Dismisses Elon Musk’s X Corp's Lawsuit Against Nonprofit Researchers
In a win for free speech, a California district court dismissed X Corp’s efforts to target the Center for Countering Digital Hate for highlighting the social network’s flaws
Our Docket
Showing 11–20 of 64
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Lawsuit
Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Abbott
A case challenging the application of Texas’s TikTok ban to public university faculty
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Amicus Brief
Lindke v. Freed
One of two Supreme Court cases addressing the application of the First Amendment to government officials’ social media accounts
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Amicus Brief
O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier
One of two Supreme Court cases addressing the application of the First Amendment to government officials’ social media accounts
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CIA
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on the government’s use of “spyware”
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Sultanov
An Eastern District of New York case addressing the constitutionality of warrantless cellphone searches at the border
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Department of State
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records relating to the Biden administration’s review of the use of social media identifiers in visa vetting
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Department of State
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records related to foreign state efforts to influence platforms’ content moderation
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CDC
A FOIA lawsuit seeking policies restricting CDC employees' speech
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Lawsuit
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Tabak
A lawsuit challenging health agencies’ practice of blocking social media comments containing keywords associated with viewpoints critical of animal testing
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Lawsuit
A.B.O. Comix v. San Mateo County
A lawsuit challenging the digitization and destruction of mail in San Mateo County’s jails