WASHINGTON—The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and Protect Democracy last night filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR), asking a federal court to block a U.S. immigration policy that targets noncitizen researchers, advocates, fact-checkers, and trust and safety workers for visa denials, revocations, detention, and deportation based on their work studying and reporting on social media platforms.
The lawsuit alleges that the policy violates the First Amendment by penalizing particular viewpoints and deterring independent research about social media and other internet platforms. It also raises claims under the Fifth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
CITR’s motion asks the court to halt enforcement of the policy while the case proceeds, explaining that its members are already self-censoring by curtailing research, avoiding speaking publicly about their work, and limiting their participation in advocacy efforts for fear of being targeted by the government for their public-interest work.
CITR’s members include research institutions, academics, and journalists who study digital platforms and their societal impacts. Their work seeks to inform public debate so that consumers, advertisers, platforms, and policymakers can make informed decisions about emerging technologies.
The following can be attributed to Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute:
“The Trump administration claims that its new exclusion and deportation policy counters censorship, but it is itself censorship. In targeting independent researchers for studying and reporting on social media and other internet platforms, the policy punishes work that the First Amendment protects—and work that the public needs to understand how the platforms are shaping our society.”
The following can be attributed to Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index, a CITR member organization:
“Because of the policy, I’ve been prevented from traveling to the United States. I had to cancel meetings with colleagues and funders and postpone work that depends on in-person collaboration. That kind of disruption slows research, breaks down partnerships, and limits the exchange of ideas across borders.”
The following can be attributed to Brandi Geurkink, executive director of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research:
“Because of the government’s censorship policy, researchers are pulling back on studying critical topics and avoiding speaking publicly about their work, because they fear they could be detained or deported because of what they say. If this assault on research continues, people will be left without independent information about the impacts of AI and other digital platforms on our societies—at precisely the moment when we need it most.”
Read the preliminary injunction motion here.
Read more about the case here.
Lawyers on the case include Carrie DeCell, Raya Koreh, Kiran Wattamwar, Anna Diakun, Katie Fallow, Alex Abdo, and Jameel Jaffer, for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and Naomi Gilens, Nicole Schneidman, Scott Shuchart, and Deana El-Mallawany, for Protect Democracy.
For more informtaion, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected].