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
Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Rubio
A challenge to an immigration policy targeting tech researchers and online safety workers
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Legal Organizations Across Ideologies Urge Appeals Court to Uphold Block on President Trump’s Unconstitutional Attacks on Harvard
Last year, a federal court blocked the Trump administration’s efforts at a hostile ideological takeover of Harvard University
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Press Statement
Public Needs Greater Transparency Into How Generative AI Systems Are Built
Knight Institute urges Ninth Circuit to reject xAI’s bid to block California law requiring disclosures about generative AI training data
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Press Statement
Federal Court Suspends Trump Immigration Policy Targeting Technology Researchers
Court finds policy likely violates the First Amendment by targeting protected research and advocacy based on viewpoint
Our Docket
Showing 51–60 of 97
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Department of State
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records relating to the Biden administration’s review of the use of social media identifiers in visa vetting
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. Department of State
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records related to foreign state efforts to influence platforms’ content moderation
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CDC
A FOIA lawsuit seeking policies restricting CDC employees' speech
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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
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Amicus Brief
A & R Engineering and Testing, Inc. v. Scott
A lawsuit challenging Texas’s anti-BDS law
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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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Amicus Brief
Gonzalez v. Google LLC
A Supreme Court case addressing whether Section 230 shields internet platforms for their use of recommendation algorithms.
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Amicus Brief
Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh
A Supreme Court case addressing when online platforms can be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorism.
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Amicus Brief
Krasno v. Mnookin
A case challenging the suppression of speech on a public university’s social media accounts