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

A Note About the Knight Institute, X, and Bluesky

Speech and the Border in a Second Trump Administration

Don’t Assume the First Amendment Will Thwart Trump’s Pro-Censorious Agenda

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

Transparency & Democracy

Ensuring access to information necessary for self-government

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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

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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LItigation

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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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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Research

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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