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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Quick Take
"Information Disorder" Report Calls for Social Media Transparency
Aspen Institute commission calls on Congress to protect researchers who study social media
By A. Adam Glenn -
Press Statement
Knight Institute, ACLU Petition Supreme Court To Review Constitutionality of Intelligence Agencies’ “Prepublication Review” Regimes
Say that the regimes impose unconstitutional restrictions on the speech of former government employees
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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
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"
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RESEARCH
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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 -
Essays and Scholarship
What We Owe Whistleblowers
Jameel Jaffer argues that their disclosures since 9/11 have been vital, and that we should protect them better than we do
By Jameel Jaffer
Events
Lies and the Press
Does Sullivan still serve free speech values in the digital age?
Lies and Elections
How exceptional should we consider the electoral context when it comes to the regulation of lies?
