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
Analysis
The Espionage Act and a Growing Threat to Press Freedom
The government’s now-routine use of the Espionage Act against journalists’ sources raises First Amendment concerns.
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Analysis
Shedding Light on Secret Laws Governing Presidential Power
Historian explains why OLC opinions are legal building blocks for the past, present, and future
By Mary Dudziak
LITIGATION & ADVOCACY
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Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Two FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
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Lawsuit
Francis v. DOJ
A FOIA lawsuit seeking disclosure of Office of Legal Counsel opinions issued over 25 years ago
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RESEARCH
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Essays and Scholarship
Beyond First Amendment Lochnerism: A Political Process Approach
Exploring the First Amendment's evolving role in America's democratic political process and private commercial sphere
By Tim Wu -
Essays and Scholarship
State Secrecy, Archival Negligence, and the End of History as We Know It
The collapse of the U.S. government's system for organizing, conserving, and revealing its activities.
By Matthew Connelly
Events
New York, NY
Press Freedom, National Security, and Whistleblowers: From Julian Assange to the White House
Human rights and national security experts, United Nations Rapporteurs, and freedom of expression lawyers discuss the debate around WikiLeaks’ publishing, Assange’s prosecution, and the future of whistleblowing
Columbia University, New York, NY
Between Truth and Power: A Conversation with Professor Julie Cohen of Georgetown Law
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Government Secrecy in the Age of Information Overload
Jameel Jaffer discusses shifts in government transparency between the Obama and Trump administrations in annual Salant Lecture on Freedom of the Press