Transparency & Democracy
Ensuring access to information necessary for self-government
The First Amendment embraces the public’s right to access the information needed to hold the powerful accountable and participate fully in the process of self-government.
Our aim in defending and promoting transparency is not simply to compel the disclosure of information that the public is entitled to know, but to broaden public access to information through changes in government policy and the law.
Featured
Press Statement
Supreme Court Declines to Hear First Amendment Challenge to Secrecy of U.S. Surveillance Court
The Knight Institute, ACLU, Yale Clinic, and former Solicitor General say the Court’s denial curtails the public’s First Amendment right of access to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Institute Update
Institute Releases New Tool to Track OLC Opinions
@OLCforthepeople will tweet every time the Office of Legal Counsel publishes an opinion in its reading room
By Alex Abdo -
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Comments on Decision to Grant U.S. Request for Extradition of Julian Assange
Says indictment under the Espionage Act casts a shadow over investigative journalism
LITIGATION & ADVOCACY
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Lawsuit
National Association of Immigration Judges v. Neal
A lawsuit challenging a government policy silencing immigration judges
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Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Three FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
RESEARCH
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Essays and Scholarship
A Standard for Universal Digital Ad Transparency
Proposal spells out criteria that trigger transparency requirement, with ad data to be collected by government agency
By Laura Edelson , Jason Chuang , Erika Franklin Fowler , Michael M. Franz & Travis Ridout -
Essays and Scholarship
Data and Democracy: An Introduction
Questions of data regulation are at the heart of democratic practice today, from issues of secrecy to the use of data to constitute democratic institutions themselves
By Amy Kapczynski -
Institute Update : Lies and the Law
Call for Papers: Lies, Free Speech, and the Law
The Knight Institute invites submissions for its spring symposium, “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” to be held at Columbia Law School, on April 7-8, 2022. The symposium will explore how the law regulates, or should regulate, false and misleading...
By Genevieve Lakier & Katy Glenn Bass
Events
Government Lies
Is it possible to prevent the government’s lies or limit their harms?
Pursuing Platform Transparency in 2022: A January 19 Virtual Panel
Panelists will discuss a three-pronged approach to platform transparency
Lies and the Press
Does Sullivan still serve free speech values in the digital age?