Our Mission
We defend the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education.
We promote a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government.
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Issues
Free Speech & Social Media
Safeguarding the vitality and integrity of public discourse online
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Featured
Social Media for Public Officials 2.0
A First Amendment guide for public officials using social media after Lindke v. Freed
Featured
Appeals Court Says Public and Press Have First Amendment Right to Access Bail Hearings
Public access to court proceedings is fundamental to our democracy, Knight Institute says
Featured
Federal Court Says Warrant Required for Device Searches at the Border
Cites concerns about chilling effects of warrantless searches on free speech & press freedom
Research
Essay Series
Permission to Speak Freely? Managing Government Employee Speech in a Democracy
A project exploring the law and politics of public employee speech
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Lawsuit
Zuckerman v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
A case arguing that Section 230 protects tools that empower people to control what they see on social media.
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Documentary
Flashpoint: Protests, Policing, and the Press
A Knight Institute production
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Essays and Scholarship
Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech
Altering the internet's economic and digital infrastructure to promote free speech
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