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
American Association of University Professors v. Rubio
A case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of ideological deportation.
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Technology Researchers Challenge Trump Policy Threatening Deportation for Work on Social Media Platforms and Online Harms
Say policy chills a broad range of protected speech and violates the Constitution
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Press Statement
Knight Institute, Reporters Committee, and FIRE Urge Supreme Court to Reject Dragnet Geofence Warrants
Warn that dragnet location-data searches threaten the rights to privacy, free expression, and political and religious association
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Files Notice of Cross-Appeal in Challenge to Trump Administration’s Deportation Policy Targeting Pro-Palestinian Advocacy
Institute seeks stronger remedies to enforce district court’s First Amendment ruling
Our Docket
Showing 41–50 of 90
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Amicus Brief
O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier
A Ninth Circuit case addressing the application of the First Amendment to government officials’ social media accounts
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FOIA Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. CIA
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on the government’s use of “spyware”
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Amicus Brief
United States v. Sultanov
An Eastern District of New York case addressing the constitutionality of warrantless cellphone searches at the border
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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.