Deep Dive
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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
Jawboning as a Problem of Constitutional Evasion
Or why the "significant encouragement" test is not so bad
By Genevieve Lakier -
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
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
Jawboned
Dispatches from two former tech platform employees.
By Katie Harbath & Matt Perault -
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 -
Deep Dive : Jawboning
Persuasion or Coercion? The Fifth Circuit’s Muddled View of Missouri v. Biden
When is it unconstitutional for the government to urge social media companies to take down content?
By Ashutosh Bhagwat -
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Deep Dive : Press Freedom
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
By Joel Simon & Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive : Algorithmic Amplification and Society
Generative AI companies must publish transparency reports
The debate about AI harms is happening in a data vacuum.
By Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor -
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Deep Dive
Judging in Secret
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel was once known as the “constitutional conscience” of the executive branch, but in recent years it has been known principally for green-lighting torture, mass surveillance, and extrajudicial killings.
By Jameel Jaffer -
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Deep Dive
The First Amendment Protects More Than You Think
Institute's Scott Wilkens talks to the Future Today Institute
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Deep Dive
New York’s Gun Law Goes Too Far: Requiring concealed-carry applicants to register their social media accounts is unconstitutional
This dragnet collection of social media information has a chilling effect on applicants’ exercise of their right to speak and associate with others online
By Anna Diakun -
Deep Dive
Knight Institute Weighs in on Gonzalez v. Google in RE-COMMITTED Q&A
Knight Institute Senior Counsel Wilkens joins other amici discussing the importance of Gonzalez v. Google for the future of the internet
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Deep Dive
How the Supreme Court Could Encourage Platform Transparency
Without chilling free speech
By Ramya Krishnan -
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 -
Deep Dive : Algorithmic Amplification and Society
TikTok’s Secret Sauce
TikTok’s algorithm is ordinary. Its real innovation is something else.
By Arvind Narayanan -
Deep Dive
Twitter v. Taamneh in the Supreme Court: What’s at Stake
A ruling for the plaintiffs could force platforms to take down broad swaths of political speech, Knight Institute says
By Anna Diakun -
Deep Dive : Press Freedom
Pegasus spyware was used to hack reporters’ phones. I’m suing its creators
When you’re infected by Pegasus, spies effectively hold a clone of your phone – we’re fighting back
By Nelson Rauda Zablah -
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Deep Dive : Algorithmic Amplification and Society
How To Train Your TikTok
Simple ways to better navigate the platform’s ocean of video content
By Arvind Narayanan -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Past as Prologue: Lies in Historical Context
Institute publishes second set of essays from “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” symposium
By Katy Glenn Bass -
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Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading “Editorial Discretion”
Despite what the Fifth Circuit recently suggested, “editorial discretion” is most definitely a whole thing
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
A Digital Sphere that Serves Democracy
At 2022 Beaverbrook Lecture, Jameel Jaffer assesses watershed cases on regulation of social media
By Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Knight Institute Publishes First Essays from “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” Symposium
Authors look at legal status of different categories of false speech in public discourse
By Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive
U.S. Courts Must Stop Shielding Government Surveillance Programs from Accountability
The NSA’s surveillance of Americans’ internet use raises serious constitutional concerns, but the government claims a lawsuit against the program would compromise “state secrets”
By Alex Abdo & Patrick C. Toomey -
Deep Dive : Press Freedom
The Espionage Act Has Been Abused — But Not in Trump’s Case
Reforms to the law are long overdue, but they have nothing to do with the Mar-a-Lago search
By Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Discovery Logic: Making friends while finding gems
Curation, review, recommendation, discussion, and user identity characterize these social networks
By Mike Sugarman -
Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading Schenck v. United States
Please don't falsely yell fire in a crowded theater
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading Bluman v. Federal Election Commission
Foreigners have interesting and important things to say too
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive
One More Thing About Herbert v. Lando
Technology companies and some legal scholars are relying heavily on the Supreme Court’s 1979 decision in Herbert v. Lando to argue that the First Amendment precludes legislatures from imposing transparency mandates on social media companies. This reliance is misplaced. As...
By Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading Herbert v. Lando
Why exercising editorial discretion doesn’t exempt platforms from all transparency mandates
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Symposium Suggests Large-Scale Societal Changes Are Needed to Lessen Impact of Harmful Lies
By A. Adam GlennInstitute’s “Lies, Free Speech, and the Law” event featured research from a diverse range of scholars on how to address the problem of falsehoods
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Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading the First Amendment
Exposing the false assumptions that underlie contemporary First Amendment debates
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
Deep Dive : Rereading the First Amendment
Rereading Alvarez
It turns out the government can regulate lies … sometimes
By Evelyn Douek & Genevieve Lakier -
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Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Are We Climbing in or out of the Hole?
Artist Piotr Szyhalski on the making of the “Lies and the Law” series
By Kushal Dev -
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 -
Deep Dive
Reclaim the First Amendment — Harvard Law Review Address
Did the First Amendment serve us well during the “war on terror,” and will it serve us well during the age of social media, surveillance, and ascendant authoritarianism?
By Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive
Egbert v. Boule Offers Chance To Recognize Bivens Remedies for First Amendment Retaliation
The Supreme Court's own reasoning suggests it should not foreclose a Bivens action for First Amendment retaliation claims
By Alyssa Morones -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Freedom From the Marketplace of Speech
Four ways to render speech less susceptible to private coercion
By Amy Kapczynski -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Of Noisy Songs and Mighty Rivers
Why the framework of “marketplace of ideas” is a fairy tale
By Yochai Benkler -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
“Truth Drives Out Lies” and Other Misinformation
Justice Kennedy, free speech fabulist
By David Pozen -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Thoughts on Government Lies
Mapping the varieties of lies governments tell, with some help from Hannah Arendt
By David Luban -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
The Most Troubling Government Lie? The "Presumptive" One
The problem is less the obviously false statement than the obscure “fact” that allows the government to bias or distort critical information
By Wendy Wagner -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
What the Constitution Can—and Can’t—Do About the Government’s Lies
Litigation is one remedy; laws that constrain the speech of governmental bodies are another; counterspeech and politics are still more
By Helen Norton -
Deep Dive
Biden promised transparency. Has he delivered?
One year into Biden's presidency, Staff Attorney Anna Diakun reflects on the administration’s transparency record and calls for a course correction where it has come up short.
By Anna Diakun -
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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 -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
The Media will be All Right
A plaintiff’s lawyer’s lament on how anti-SLAPP will be an obstacle for defendants with or without Sullivan
By Carrie Goldberg -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Sullivan is Not the Problem
It’s the amplification of misinformation that’s the issue; the solution is about the architecture of our public square
By Nabiha Syed -
Deep Dive
Judicial Secrecy: How to fix the over-sealing of federal court records
The time has come for the courts to adopt a uniform procedure for sealing that protects the public’s right of access to court records
By Heather Abraham , Jonathan Manes & Alex Abdo -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Facebook?
Start with Congress enabling more research and journalism focused on social media platforms
By Ramya Krishnan & Alex Abdo -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Drawing the Line Between False Election Speech and False Campaign Speech
Why Congress or states may constitutionally ban the former but not the latter
By Richard L. Hasen -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Congress Must Act To Establish Sensible Rules on Electoral Speech
Confusion reigns around current laws and regulations in the runup to the 2022 midterm elections
By Matt Perault -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Race, the Epistemic Crisis of Democracy, and the First Amendment
Countering the “Big Lie” requires a broader conversation that includes acknowledgement of coded racial voter suppression
By Atiba Ellis -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
We Must Fight Lies, Ignorance, and the Bigotry They Produce If We Are To Remain a Democracy
Defeating the use of disinformation means pressing our government for laws that protect democracy and promote the truth, while we practice the same in our public and private lives
By Janell Byrd-Chichester -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less
Facebook is increasingly using its terms of service to crush not only research but also tools that give users more control over their data and platform experience
By Louis Barclay -
Deep Dive
Are Human Rights Violations Becoming More Difficult to Hide?
In the post-/911 digital era, experts reflect on what they learned from the government's response to the World Trade Center attacks, and how the world of human rights activism has changed
By A. Adam Glenn -
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 -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
New Research Project Focuses on Lies and the Law
How does (or should) the law shape the regulation of lies, disinformation, and misinformation in the digital age
By Genevieve Lakier & Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
The Anguish of the Necessary Lie
Quinta Jurecic on the strained relationship between truth and politics
By Quinta Jurecic -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Is Politics Possible in the Absence of Truth?
Masha Gessen on how polarization around facts pits us against each other
By Masha Gessen -
Deep Dive : Lies and the Law
Is Lying Actually a Good Thing in Politics?
Sophia Rosenfeld explores the value of some looseness in the policing of the boundaries around truth and lies
By Sophia Rosenfeld -
Deep Dive
In the “War on Terror,” What Did Rights Organizations Get Wrong?
Jameel Jaffer reflects on what the human rights community might have done differently in the aftermath of 9/11
By Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive : Press Freedom
The Law of the Reporter’s Privilege is a Mess. A Federal Shield Law Could Help Fix It.
Journalists need to know when they can expect to receive protection under federal law and when they can’t
By Mayze Teitler & Samuel Aber -
Deep Dive : Press Freedom
The Justice Department’s New Media Protections Are (Mostly) a Promise, Not Yet a Reality
What’s most important is not what the Attorney General has already done, but what the Justice Department and Congress do next
By Anna Diakun & Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive
Long-Withheld Office of Legal Counsel Records Reveal Agency’s Postwar Influence
Indexes of opinions from 1945 to 1958 highlight key role of office in issuing controlling interpretations of law inside executive branch
By Xiangnong (George) Wang -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Can We Conceive of a New Internet?
By A. Adam GlennThe Knight First Amendment Institute hosted a week-long symposium to explore ways to lessen the dominance of tech giants and find new alternatives to gather online.
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Deep Dive : Press Freedom
For the Biden Administration, Who Counts as News Media?
Newly obtained document raises concerns that some newsgatherers will be denied First Amendment protection
By Anna Diakun & Trevor Timm -
Deep Dive
What Is America’s Spy Court Hiding From the Public?
Unnecessary secrecy about government surveillance is bad for the intelligence agencies, the spy court, and our democracy
By Jameel Jaffer , Theodore Olson & David Cole -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Social Media Mapping Project Takes Flight with Avian Avatars
Collaboration between Institute researchers, artist pairs various online community “logics” with birds of a feather
By A. Adam Glenn -
Deep Dive
A New Consensus Around Transparency and National Security Surveillance
Civil libertarian arguments that were dismissed a decade ago are now broadly accepted, even at the highest levels of the intelligence community
By Jameel Jaffer & Patrick C. Toomey -
Deep Dive
The Pitfalls of Platform Analogies in Reconsidering the Shape of the First Amendment
Krishnan responds to “After the ‘Great Deplatforming’: Reconsidering the shape of the First Amendment,” by Genevieve Lakier and Nelson Tebbe
By Ramya Krishnan -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
An Illustrated Field Guide to Social Media
A look at alternative logics for social media published in connection with “Reimagine the Internet”
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Forum Logic: Topical, with a side of toxicity
Looking back at topic-based social networks may offer one way forward for social media
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Gift Logic: Labors of love flourish online under fandom’s social norms
Fan culture’s cycle of gifting, receiving, and reciprocating helps create and maintain social solidarity
By Casey Fiesler -
Deep Dive : Public Officials and Social Media
Paxton Critics Blocked, Now Unblocked, from Texas AG’s Twitter Account
Texas AG unblocks critics in response to Knight Institute, ACLU of Texas lawsuit maintaining the account is a "public forum" under the First Amendment
By A. Adam Glenn -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Russian Social Media Logic: Between the East and the West
Contradiction is the defining feature of the Runet
By Gregory Asmolov -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Q&A Logic: Questions, answers, and everything in-between
Could social roles help us build healthier communities online?
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive
The Public Should Have Access to the Surveillance Court’s Opinions
It's time for the Supreme Court to enforce the public's right to know how the FISC has shaped the nation’s laws and our liberties
By Alex Abdo & Charlie Hogle -
Deep Dive : Public Officials and Social Media
Official Censorship Should Have No Place in the Digital Public Square
Courts are barring public officials from blocking critics from their social media accounts.
By Jameel Jaffer & Katie Fallow -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Creator Logic: It's like Uber but for culture
The original gig economy returns online
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive
Facebook’s ‘Supreme Court’ Faces Its First Major Test
The questions are bigger than whether Trump should have been suspended
By Jameel Jaffer & Katy Glenn Bass -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
The Great Shopping Mall: The market nationalist logic of Chinese social media
The West tends to focus on security, but entertainment and commerce are the key goals here
By An Xiao Mina & Xiaowei Wang -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Top 100: The most popular social media platforms and what they can teach us
Moving past U.S. and Facebook centrism
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive
A First Amendment agenda for Biden's first 100 days
How the new administration can reaffirm the freedoms of speech, association, and petition in its first 100 days
By Larry Siems & Jameel Jaffer -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Deplatforming Our Way to the Alt-Tech Ecosystem
What happens when you exile users and communities?
By Ethan Zuckerman & Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Local Logic: It's not always a beautiful day in the neighborhood
The advantages and disadvantages of local platforms and their potential to support healthy communities on- and offline
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Civic Logic: Social media with opinion and purpose
It may be our best chance to build digital spaces that enhance our social and civic life
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Chat Logic: When you want a living room, not a town square
People want privacy and ephemerality, but can it scale?
By Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci & Ethan Zuckerman -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
What if Social Media Worked More Like Email?
Hearkening back to the internet’s good ole days with decentralized networks
By Ethan Zuckerman & Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Crypto Logic Platforms and the Cautionary Tale of Steemit
What makes crypto social media unique?
By Ethan Zuckerman & Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
Beyond Facebook Logic: Help us map alternative social media!
Toward a civic-minded social media
By Ethan Zuckerman & Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci -
Deep Dive
Big Data, Access to Public Health Information, and the Rush for a Cure: An Interview with Amy Kapczynski
Assessing the data and information needed to evaluate critical health and policy decisions
By Katy Glenn Bass