Jawboning
The First Amendment imposes stringent constraints on the government’s power to regulate speech, but the question of when the First Amendment prohibits jawboning—informal government efforts to persuade, cajole, or strong-arm private platforms to change their content-moderation practices—warrants more attention than it’s received thus far. Some forms of jawboning are probably best understood as a legitimate aspect of governance. Others are probably best understood as illegitimate, and possibly unconstitutional, efforts to manipulate or censor public discourse.
This blog channel highlights the Institute’s ongoing research and education efforts related to jawboning.
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Deep Dive: Jawboning
Jawboning as a Problem of Constitutional Evasion
Or why the "significant encouragement" test is not so bad
By Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Jawboning in the Era of New Governance
The increasing privatization of governance makes jawboning even more complicated.
By Hannah Bloch-Wehba -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
The Government’s Unbalanced Speech Rights Schema
The Fifth Circuit reopened the channels of political communication.
By Michael Glennon -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Six Things About Jawboning
Building blocks for a workable legal standard
By Daphne Keller -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
The Jawboning Forests and Trees
Systemic problems require systemic solutions.
By Evelyn Douek -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
The Unambiguous First Amendment Law of Government Jawboning
Missouri v. Biden and the political war over content moderation.
By Enrique Armijo -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Jawboned
Dispatches from two former tech platform employees.
By Katie Harbath & Matt Perault -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Curtailing Anti-Democratic Populism is the Only Durable Solution to Jawboning
An exploration of the political tightrope that platforms struggle to walk.
By Dean Jackson -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Getting the Facts Straight: Some Observations on the Fifth Circuit Ruling in Missouri v. Biden
In jawboning claims, factual details are crucial. And the Fifth Circuit's narrative is not supported by the facts or the known timeline.
By Yoel Roth -
Deep Dive: Jawboning
Missouri v. Biden: An Opportunity to Clarify Messy First Amendment Doctrine
On the legality of "jawboning," more clarity is needed.
By Jennifer Jones & Mayze Teitler
Litigation
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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Lawsuit
Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Abbott
A case challenging the application of Texas’s TikTok ban to public university faculty
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Podcast
Views on First
What happens when social media collides with the First Amendment?
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Event
Flashpoint: Protests, Policing, and the Press
Film Screening and Panel Discussion
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