Digital Searches
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Institute Update
New Podcast on Speech & the Border
Season three of “Views on First” looks at the frontiers of censorship and surveillance
By Lorraine Kenny -
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Event
Regardless of Frontiers: The First Amendment and the Exchange of Ideas Across Borders
A symposium and exhibition exploring the international border as a venue, justification, or pretext for censorship or surveillance
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Press Statement
Federal Court Says Warrant Required for Device Searches at the Border
Cites concerns about chilling effects of warrantless searches on free speech & press freedom
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Press Statement
State Department Rule Requiring Visa Applicants to Register Their Social Media Handles is Ineffective, New Documents Say
Knight Institute renews calls for Biden administration to end policy that “infringes expressive and associational freedom”
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Press Statement
Knight Institute and Reporters Committee File Amicus Brief in Case Challenging Electronic Device Searches at the Border
Argue warrantless device searches violate the First and Fourth Amendments
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Press Statement
Knight Institute, Brennan Center React to Court Ruling in Documentary Film Organizations’ Challenge to Social Media Surveillance
Say social media registration requirement for visa applicants violates First Amendment
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Event
Spyware and the Press
A discussion about the threat that malicious surveillance technology poses to press freedom around the world
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Deep Dive
NYC’s nightmarish plan to prohibit physical mail in jails should be abandoned
A move to digitize this correspondence has proved in the past to dramatically undermine the expressive and privacy rights of both incarcerated and unincarcerated people
By Stephanie Krent -
Press Statement
Knight Institute and Reporters Committee Argue Device Searches at Border Violate First and Fourth Amendments
Urge federal appeals court to require a warrant before border agents can search electronic devices
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Deep Dive
Why is The U.S. Still Probing Foreign Visitors’ Social Media Accounts?
Many people expected the Biden administration to end a Trump-era policy. Instead, the administration is expanding it.
By Anna Diakun & Carrie DeCell -
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Deep Dive
The Worrying Expansion of the Social Media Surveillance-Industrial Complex
Knight Institute submits FOIA requests into scope and details of government contracts
By Sinclair Cook & Michael DelRossi -
Press Statement
Supreme Court Declines to Hear First Amendment Challenge to Secrecy of U.S. Surveillance Court
The Knight Institute, ACLU, Yale Clinic, and former Solicitor General say the Court’s denial curtails the public’s First Amendment right of access to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions
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Quick Take
North Carolina Becomes the Latest State to Digitize Mail in Prisons
Program ratchets up surveillance and raises serious First Amendment concerns
By Stephanie Krent -
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 -
Inside Look
Doc Society v. Blinken: Challenging the State Department’s Social Media Registration Requirement
The Institute's Carrie DeCell details how the requirement is a social media dragnet that chills the speech and associations of millions of people around the world
By A. Adam Glenn -
Press Statement
Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Challenge to NSA Internet Surveillance
Knight Institute calls on the Supreme Court to make clear that NSA surveillance is not beyond the reach of our public courts
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Quick Take
Biden Administration Continues to Defend Social Media Registration Requirement in Court
Indicates that it may retain Trump-era requirement
By Carrie DeCell -
Quick Take
A Promising First Step Towards Curtailing Social Media Surveillance
Agency rejects proposed expansion of dangerous screening and vetting policy
By Xiangnong (George) Wang -
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Quick Take
Biden Administration Signals Openness to Reconsidering Social Media Surveillance of Visa Applicants
Orders a review of a dangerous Trump administration screening and vetting policy and ends discriminatory executive order that led to it
By Anna Diakun -
Analysis
Clearview AI’s First Amendment Theory Threatens Privacy—and Free Speech, Too
Drawing the line around what is protected by the First Amendment is more challenging than you might think
By Jameel Jaffer & Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Briefs Filed by Twitter, Reddit, EFF, and Muslim Advocates Highlight Far-Reaching Implications of Social Media Surveillance
Underscore the civil liberties implications of the intrusive surveillance program
By Leena Charlton & Jacob Apkon -
Press Statement
Twitter, Reddit File in Support of Lawsuit Challenging U.S. Government’s Social Media Registration Requirement for Visa Applicants
Companies argue that policy unquestionably chills a vast quantity of speech
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Analysis
Visiting the U.S.? The Government is Reading Your Old Facebook Posts
A new lawsuit could help stop the surveillance of 14 million people a year who visit the US. The courts must put an end to overreach.
By Carrie DeCell & Cristian Farias -
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Analysis
A New U.S. Visa Requirement is Silencing Foreign Filmmakers
Policy infringes on filmmakers' freedom of expression and interferes with Americans' ability to engage with diverse international thinkers
By Simon Kilmurry -
Press Statement
Documentary Film Organizations Sue Over U.S. Government’s Social Media Registration Requirement for Visa Applicants
Registration requirement introduces far-reaching and unconstitutional surveillance, groups say
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Responds to Deportation of Incoming Harvard Student based on Friends’ Social Media Posts
Underscores chilling effect of invasive border searches on intellectual freedom
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Press Statement
Legal Journalist Cristian Farias Joins Knight Institute as Writer-in-Residence
Farias will undertake a major investigative project focused on freedom of expression and the U.S. border
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Analysis
Warrantless Device Searches at the Border Will Threaten Privacy in the U.S. Heartland
Unless agents are required to get a warrant, the ‘border exception’ will be a window into the private lives of Americans and a means of stifling dissent
By Daniela Nogueira -
Analysis
Targeting Journalists Under FISA: New Documents Reveal DOJ’s Secret Rules
Records suggest U.S. government is using FISA court orders to monitor journalists
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
More Questions Than Answers from DOJ Letter About Journalist Surveillance
New DOJ disclosure on surveillance of the press provides little assurance on journalists' ability to protect confidential sources
By Ramya Krishnan -
Press Statement
Supreme Court Strengthens Digital-Era Privacy and First Amendment Rights
Landmark ruling in Carpenter v. United States holds government can't acquire sensitive cellphone location data without a warrant
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Analysis
Trump's "Extreme Vetting" is Muzzling Activists and Shutting Them Out
By turning away foreign activists, American authorities are masquerading censorship as immigration enforcement
By Carrie DeCell -
Press Statement
Knight Institute, Reporters Committee Argue Device Searches at Border Violate First Amendment Rights
Urge court to deny government's request to dismiss legal challenge
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Analysis
“Dehumanized” at the Border, Travelers Push Back
Newly produced travelers' complaints underscore the intrusiveness of electronic device searches
By Carrie DeCell -
Analysis
CBP’s New Policy for Searching Devices Offers Thin Protection
New directive on border searches of phones fails to resolve constitutional problems and raises new concerns
By Carrie DeCell -
Analysis
Warrantless Border Searches: The Officer "Searched Through ... Intimate Photos of My Wife"
Traveler complaints reveal a range of discriminatory, demeaning, and gratuitously intrusive searches
By Carrie DeCell -
Press Statement
Traveler Complaints Reveal Abuses in Border Searches of Electronic Devices
Responding to Knight Institute FOIA, government releases 92-page spreadsheet containing 240 complaints about electronic device searches at border
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Press Statement
Lawsuit Seeks Government Guidelines on Surveillance of Journalists
Knight Institute, Freedom of the Press Foundation file lawsuit amid surge in leak investigations
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Podcast
Podcast: When the Fourth Amendment Fails
In "The Weekly Appellate Report" podcast, Alex Abdo argues that Supreme Court should adopt a First Amendment framework in surveillance cases like Carpenter v. U.S.
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Analysis
Supreme Court Cellphone Case Puts Free Speech – Not Just Privacy – at Risk
Carpenter v. United States could have drastic implications for First Amendment freedoms in the digital age
By Jameel Jaffer & Alex Abdo -
Video
Does the Warrantless Search and Seizure of Cellphone Records Violate the Fourth Amendment?
Alex Abdo joins a debate on Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court case on whether government can access location records without a warrant
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Analysis
Why Rely on the Fourth Amendment to Do the Work of the First?
Modern surveillance threatens not only individual privacy but also the freedom to dissent. We shouldn't expect the Fourth Amendment to adequately protect First Amendment interests
By Alex Abdo -
Press Statement
Knight Institute Sues for Documents on Social Media Monitoring and “Extreme Vetting” of Immigrants, Visitors
Lawsuit seeks documents relating to government's claim it can exclude or remove non-citizens based on speech, beliefs, and associations
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Analysis
We Need to Know More About Government Searches of Travelers’ Electronic Devices
Laptop and phone searches may be infringing on the freedoms of speech and press more than we realize.
By Carrie DeCell -
Press Statement
In Supreme Court Brief, Technologists Warn Against Warrantless Access to Cell Phone Location Data
Amicus brief describes how warrantless access to location data threatens freedoms of speech and assocation
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Analysis
Censorship at the Border Threatens Free Speech Everywhere
The Trump administration's proposed vetting of social-media accounts at the border threatens First Amendment values and the very idea of open society
By Jameel Jaffer -
Analysis
Why Is the Government Searching Cellphones?
Reports of device searches at the border suggests government is expanding an unconstitutional program
By Katie Fallow -
Press Statement
Knight Institute Sues for Records On Cellphone and Laptop Searches at the Border
Lawsuit against DHS seeks information on searches of travelers’ electronic devices without a warrant