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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Blog

History Has Already Discredited the TikTok Ban

What Public Officials Need to Know About Posting on Social Media After Lindke v. Freed

Social Media for Public Officials 2.0

Issues

Free Speech & Social Media

Safeguarding the vitality and integrity of public discourse online

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Featured

Federal Court Says National Institutes of Health Censored Critics on Social Media in Violation of First Amendment

Knight Institute, PETA, and Animal Legal Defense Fund say decision is victory for free speech online

Transparency & Democracy

Ensuring access to information necessary for self-government

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Featured

The Press and American Democracy

Identifying four distinct constitutional functions of "the press"

Privacy & Surveillance

Protecting the privacy vital to free thought and expression

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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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Video

Documentary

Flashpoint: Protests, Policing, and the Press

A Knight Institute production

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Litigation

Lawsuit

The Foundation for Global Political Exchange v. Department of the Treasury

A case challenging OFAC’s suppression of the exchange of political ideas

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Event

Event

Regardless of Frontiers: The First Amendment and the Exchange of Ideas Across Borders

A symposium and exhibition exploring the international border as a venue, justification, or pretext for censorship or surveillance

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