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
ACLU v. United States
A motion asserting a right of access to opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Deep Dive
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Facebook?
Start with Congress enabling more research and journalism focused on social media platforms
By Ramya Krishnan & Alex Abdo -
Deep Dive
Writing to Someone in Prison? Uncle Sam May Keep a Copy.
Knight Institute lawsuit aims to bring new surveillance program to light
By Stephanie Krent -
Press Statement
In Knight Institute Lawsuit, Court Orders CDC to Release Trump Administration Policies Restricting Employees’ Ability to Speak to Press and Public
Withheld policies raised public-health and free-speech concerns in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic
Our Docket
Showing 31–40 of 40
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Amicus Brief
Amawi v. Pflugerville Independent School District
A lawsuit challenging Texas's anti-BDS law
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Amicus Brief
Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation
A lawsuit against WikiLeaks implicating important press freedoms
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Amicus Brief
Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media
A Supreme Court case addressing the scope of FOIA’s exemption for confidential commercial information
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Amicus Brief
Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck
A Supreme Court case involving free speech on private property
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Amicus Brief
Raimondo v. FBI
A Ninth Circuit case addressing the scope of the Privacy Act’s protections for free expression
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Amicus Brief
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. DOJ
A FOIA lawsuit seeking proactive disclosure of the Office of Legal Counsel’s secret legal opinions
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Lawsuit
Davison v. Randall
A lawsuit challenging a local government official’s blocking of a critic on Facebook
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Amicus Brief
Carpenter v. United States
A Supreme Court case challenging warrantless access to cellphone location data
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