Katy Glenn Bass
Research Director
Katy Glenn Bass is the research director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. She is responsible for conceptualizing and executing all of the Institute’s research initiatives, including the production of scholarship and research materials, the organization of conferences and symposia, and the Institute’s Visiting Research Scholars program.
Glenn Bass has organized five major symposia in partnership with the Institute’s visiting scholars. These include “Optimizing for What? Algorithmic Amplification and Society,” “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law,” and “Data and Democracy.” The research program’s events bring together scholars and experts in law, computer science, economics, information studies, journalism, political science, philosophy, and other disciplines. To date, the research program’s efforts have produced more than 60 original essays reflecting on the intersection of public and private power, the shaping of online public discourse, and the protection of the right to self-government in the internet age.
Prior to joining the Institute, Glenn Bass worked at PEN America, where she supervised the production of reports analyzing free expression issues, including the lack of protections for national security whistleblowers, attacks on journalists covering the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, the impact of mass surveillance on online speech, and other topics. She has also taught at NYU Law’s Center for Constitutional Transitions and at the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic at Fordham Law School. She holds a B.A. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she received the Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award.
Contact
Selected Projects
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Algorithmic Amplification and Society
A project studying algorithmic amplification and distortion, and exploring ways to minimize harmful amplifying or distorting effects
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Lies and the Law
A series of public conversations and publications 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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Mapping Social Media
A research project aimed at identifying the “logics” of social media
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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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The Tech Giants, Monopoly Power, and Public Discourse
An essay series addressing the tech giants' power to shape public discourse
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Free Speech Futures
An essay series reimagining the First Amendment in the digital age
Selected Work
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Deep Dive
Facebook’s ‘Supreme Court’ Faces Its First Major Test
The New York Times
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Trump the Truth: Free Expression in the President's First 100 Days
PEN America
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Freedom of Speech Under Fire in Ferguson
Newsweek
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Press Freedom Under Fire in Ferguson
PEN America
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Suppressing Protest: Human Rights Violations in the U.S. Response to Occupy Wall Street
NYU Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
Contact
Selected Projects
-
Algorithmic Amplification and Society
A project studying algorithmic amplification and distortion, and exploring ways to minimize harmful amplifying or distorting effects
-
Lies and the Law
A series of public conversations and publications exploring what the law can and should do about the problem of lies and deception in the contemporary mass public sphere
-
Mapping Social Media
A research project aimed at identifying the “logics” of social media
-
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
-
The Tech Giants, Monopoly Power, and Public Discourse
An essay series addressing the tech giants' power to shape public discourse
-
Free Speech Futures
An essay series reimagining the First Amendment in the digital age
Writings & Appearances
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Institute Update
Knight Institute Announces Scholars, Litigators, and Tech Policy Experts Who Will Participate in Initiative on Jawboning and the First Amendment
On Friday, October 20, the Knight Institute will host a closed convening at Columbia University to explore the question of jawboning.
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Deep Dive
First Step in Police Reform: Protect the First Amendment
Police should ensure that journalists and members of the public acting as newsgatherers are able to work without interference
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Deep Dive
Past as Prologue: Lies in Historical Context
Institute publishes second set of essays from “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” symposium
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Institute Update
Call for Participation: Optimizing for What? Algorithmic Amplification and Society
The Knight Institute invites submissions for its spring symposium, April 27-28, 2023, at Columbia University