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 31–40 of 64
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records concerning the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ digitization and surveillance of mail
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FOIA Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Three FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
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Amicus Brief
Egbert v. Boule
A Supreme Court case addressing the scope of Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics
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Amicus Brief
City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, Inc.
A Supreme Court case challenging a city sign code that permits on-premises but not off-premises signs to be digitized.
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. DHS
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records relating to searches of electronic devices at the U.S. border
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FOIA Lawsuit
Campaign for Accountability v. DOJ
A FOIA lawsuit seeking proactive disclosure of the Office of Legal Counsel’s secret legal opinions
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Lawsuit
ACLU v. United States
A motion asserting a right of access to opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Abu Zubaydah
A Supreme Court case in which the government has invoked the state secrets privilege over testimony about the torture of Abu Zubaydah
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute and Committee to Protect Journalists v. CIA
A FOIA lawsuit for records concerning the U.S. government's "duty to warn" journalist Jamal Khashoggi