Litigation
The Institute defends the freedoms of speech and of the press through strategic litigation designed to have a meaningful impact on the law, on public policy, and on public opinion. We litigate cases that have the potential to establish important new legal principles concerning the system of free expression, to influence the practices of powerful actors in that system, and to raise public awareness about contemporary structural threats to that system. We focus especially on complex and challenging cases that relate to new technology, including new communications platforms, and we favor cases that afford us the opportunity to draw on insights generated by our research program.
Our litigation prioritizes cases in our three focus areas, Free Speech & Social Media, Transparency & Democracy, and Privacy & Surveillance.
Featured
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Sues CDC for Release of Policies Restricting Employees’ Ability to Speak to Press and Public
Says policies raise public-health and free-speech concerns in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic
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Analysis
Public Officials Can’t Block Critics from Official Social Media Accounts
Appeals court protects public’s right to read and respond to official social media accounts, at a time when we rely on them most
By Carrie DeCell & Meenakshi Krishnan -
Press Statement
Appeals Court Affirms that First Amendment Bars the President from Blocking Critics on Twitter
Second Circuit Denies Full Court Review in Knight Institute v. Trump
Our Docket
Showing 1–10 of 28
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Amicus Brief
Campbell v. Reisch
A lawsuit challenging a state representative’s blocking of a critic on Twitter
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Lawsuit
Doc Society v. Pompeo
A lawsuit challenging the State Department’s social media registration requirement
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Amicus Brief
Amawi v. Pflugerville Independent School District
A lawsuit challenging Texas's anti-BDS law
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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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Lawsuit
Freedom of the Press Foundation v. DOJ
A FOIA lawsuit for records concerning the surveillance of journalists
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Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. DHS
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on ideological screening at the border
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Amicus Brief
Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation
A lawsuit against WikiLeaks implicating important press freedoms