Research
The Institute’s research program encompasses a range of investigative, scholarly, and policy-directed projects that explore the intersection of law, technology, and the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age. Institute staff and Visiting Research Scholars convene discussions and commission and produce essay series, white papers, reports, and original research that illuminate trends affecting the system of free expression, support the Institute's litigation projects, and explore new frameworks for protecting the freedoms of speech and the press.
Our research is concentrated in our three priority areas, Free Speech & Social Media, Transparency & Democracy, and Privacy & Surveillance, with a particular emphasis on free speech challenges arising from new technologies.
Learn more about Senior Visiting Research Scholar positions at the Institute here.
Featured
Lies and the Law
A series of public conversations exploring what the law can and should do about the problem of lies and deception in the contemporary mass public sphere
Research Projects
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Symposiums and Convenings
Lies and the Law
A series of public conversations exploring what the law can and should do about the problem of lies and deception in the contemporary mass public sphere
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Essay Series
Data and Democracy
A Knight Institute and Law and Political Economy Project essay series considering how big data is changing our system of self-government
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Symposiums and Convenings
Mapping Social Media
A research project aimed at identifying the “logics” of social media
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Essay Series
Occasional Papers
An essay series tackling pressing issues at the intersection of speech, privacy, and technology
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Essay Series
The Tech Giants, Monopoly Power, and Public Discourse
An essay series addressing the tech giants' power to shape public discourse
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Essay Series
Emerging Threats
An essay series exploring new or intensifying threats to the system of free expression
Essays and Scholarship
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Occasional Papers
What We Owe Whistleblowers
Jameel Jaffer argues that their disclosures since 9/11 have been vital, and that we should protect them better than we do
By Jameel Jaffer -
Data and Democracy
The Keys to the Kingdom
Mathias Vermeulen on overcoming GDPR concerns to unlock access to platform data for independent researchers
By Mathias Vermeulen -
Data and Democracy
Transparency’s AI Problem
Artificial intelligence’s opaque processes and outcomes make it an incomplete tool for governing
By Hannah Bloch-Wehba