Online platforms play an enormous role in shaping our public discourse. They are at once hubs for news, lifelines to advocacy organizations and governments, critical forums for businesses, and a vital means of personal connection. Yet for all their impact, these platforms often seem opaque, confusing, and beyond the reach of regulation and accountability measures.

Our policy work aims to ensure the transparency and accountability of communications platforms.  For example, the Knight Institute has long called for a legislative safe harbor for public-interest researchers and journalists investigating online platforms whose work is crucial to understanding the workings and impacts of social media, and supports policies that would require social media companies to share more data with the public.