Privacy & Surveillance
Protecting the privacy vital to free thought and expression
Our laws restricting surveillance and data collection are struggling to keep pace with new technology that can track and reveal our expressive lives in ever more detail, and with new business models that rely on the aggregation and exploitation of this information.
Our work is meant to illuminate the scope and impact of surveillance by government and private corporations, promote stronger legal protections for privacy, and enrich public understanding of the interplay between privacy and the freedoms of inquiry, speech, and association.
Featured
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
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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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 -
Press Statement
Knight Institute, Reporters Committee, and a Dozen Media Organizations Argue Device Searches at Border Violate First Amendment Rights
Urge federal appeals court to require a warrant for device searches
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Analysis
Protest Resources for Journalists and Protesters
Protecting your data, technology, and First Amendment rights at a protest
LITIGATION & ADVOCACY
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Amicus Brief
Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra
Two Supreme Court cases challenging a California law that compels the disclosure of charitable organizations’ donor information
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Lawsuit
Knight Institute v. DHS
A FOIA lawsuit seeking records on ideological screening at the border
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Amicus Brief
Alasaad v. Mayorkas
A lawsuit challenging warrantless searches of electronic devices at the border
Events
New York, NY
A Conversation with Edward Snowden
A post-event video featuring Snowden talking about surveillance, security, and whistleblowers
Columbia University, New York, NY
Protecting Privacy in the "Golden Age" of Surveillance
Joan Feigenbaum and Robert S. Litt discuss encryption, surveillance, law enforcement, and privacy with Knight Institute Senior Staff Attorney Alex Abdo
Columbia University, New York, NY
Freedom of Expression in an Age of Surveillance: Measuring the "Chilling Effect"
The second in a series of events examining the role of the First Amendment in assessing the lawfulness of government surveillance