
Free Speech & Social Media
Safeguarding the vitality and integrity of public discourse online
Conversations that once took place in parks, sidewalks, and public squares now take place largely online, and often on privately owned social media platforms. As a society, we are just beginning to grapple with the question of how the First Amendment and free speech principles should apply in these digital spaces.
Our work seeks to illuminate the forces that are shaping public discourse online, and to ensure the inclusivity and integrity of digital spaces that are increasingly important to our democracy.
Featured
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Supreme Court Rules in Two Major Social Media Cases
Knight Institute says decisions are careful but Court leaves some important questions for another day
LITIGATION & ADVOCACY
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Amicus Brief
Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh
A Supreme Court case addressing when online platforms can be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorism.
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Amicus Brief
Gonzalez v. Google LLC
A Supreme Court case addressing whether Section 230 shields internet platforms for their use of recommendation algorithms.
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Department of State
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records related to foreign state efforts to influence platforms’ content moderation
RESEARCH
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Quick Take : Algorithmic Amplification and Society
Introducing Visualizing Virality
Illustrating and investigating virality and demotion on Twitter
By Arvind Narayanan -
Essays and Scholarship
The Professional Price of Falsehoods
What role should professional organizations play in responding to lies and misinformation spread by those within their ranks?
By Quinta Jurecic
Events
Columbia University
Optimizing for What? Algorithmic Amplification and Society
A two-day symposium exploring algorithmic amplification and distortion as well as potential interventions
Columbia University and online
Lies, Free Speech, and the Law
A symposium exploring how the law regulates or should regulate false and misleading speech
Italian Academy Teatro, Columbia University, and online
Lies and Democracy
Political lies, American democracy, and the “Big Lie”