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
Zuckerman v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
A case arguing that Section 230 protects tools that empower people to control what they see on social media.
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Federal Court Blocks University of Maryland’s Unconstitutional ‘Expressive Event’ Ban
Knight Institute, ACLU, and FIRE say decision is an important victory for students’ First Amendment rights
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Press Statement
Knight Institute, ACLU, and FIRE Urge University of Maryland to Lift Unconstitutional ‘Expressive Event’ Ban
In friend-of-the-court brief, ACLU, FIRE, and Knight Institute argue UMD's 10/7 expressive event ban violates students' First Amendment rights
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Our Docket
Showing 1–10 of 69
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Amicus Brief
University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine v. University of Maryland
A case challenging a public university’s blanket ban on expressive gatherings on October 7.
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Alisigwe
A Second Circuit case addressing warrantless cellphone searches at the border
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Amicus Brief
Armendariz v. City of Colorado Springs
A case challenging broad police searches of the digital devices of housing-rights advocates
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Amicus Brief
Iowa v. Securities Exchange Commission
Litigation challenging the SEC’s climate disclosure rule
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Amicus Brief
TikTok v. Garland
A petition before the D.C. Circuit challenging the federal TikTok ban
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Amicus Brief
Lindke v. Freed
A Sixth circuit case addressing the application of the First Amendment to government officials’ social media accounts
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Lawsuit
The Texas Tribune v. Caldwell County
A case challenging the exclusion of the press and public from bail hearings in Caldwell County, Texas.
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Lawsuit
A.B.O. Comix v. San Mateo County
A lawsuit challenging the digitization and destruction of mail in San Mateo County’s jails
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Amicus Brief
Alario v. Knudsen
A Ninth Circuit appeal addressing a challenge to Montana’s TikTok ban.
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Lawsuit
Zuckerman v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
A case arguing that Section 230 protects tools that empower people to control what they see on social media.