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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Deep Dive
New York’s Gun Law Goes Too Far: Requiring concealed-carry applicants to register their social media accounts is unconstitutional
This dragnet collection of social media information has a chilling effect on applicants’ exercise of their right to speak and associate with others online
By Anna Diakun -
Press Statement
Incarcerated Individuals and Advocacy Groups Challenge California County’s Policy of Digitizing and Destroying Jail Mail
Knight Institute, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Social Justice Legal Foundation say that the policy violates the rights to free speech and privacy
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Deep Dive
Knight Institute Weighs in on Gonzalez v. Google in RE-COMMITTED Q&A
Knight Institute Senior Counsel Wilkens joins other amici discussing the importance of Gonzalez v. Google for the future of the internet
Our Docket
Showing 11–20 of 55
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. ODNI
A FOIA lawsuit for the immediate release of the U.S. intelligence report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CIA
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on the government’s use of “spyware”
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CDC
A FOIA lawsuit seeking policies restricting CDC employees' speech
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Xiang
An Eighth Circuit appeal addressing the constitutionality of warrantless electronic device searches at the border
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. DHS
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on ideological screening at the border
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Federal Bureau of Prisons
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records concerning the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ digitization and surveillance of mail
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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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Lawsuit
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Tabak
A lawsuit challenging health agencies’ practice of blocking social media comments containing keywords associated with viewpoints critical of animal testing