Transparency & Democracy
Ensuring access to information necessary for self-government
The First Amendment embraces the public’s right to access the information needed to hold the powerful accountable and participate fully in the process of self-government.
Our aim in defending and promoting transparency is not simply to compel the disclosure of information that the public is entitled to know, but to broaden public access to information through changes in government policy and the law.
Featured
Press Statement
Knight Institute Demands Attorney General Direct Armed Officers Deployed to Protests to Display Identities and Agency Affiliations
Says “No-Badge” practices instill fear, violate First Amendment
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
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Press Statement
Immigration Judges Challenge Justice Department Speech Policy
Sweeping policy prevents judges from speaking out about immigration law and policy
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Press Statement
Knight Institute and ACLU Sue Trump Administration for Prepublication Review Records
Suit seeks documents that would shed light on abuse of review system to influence public discourse in advance of upcoming election
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Press Statement
Knight Institute Reacts to Ruling in U.S. v. Bolton
Welcomes rejection of prior restraint but says other aspects of ruling raise concern
LITIGATION & ADVOCACY
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Lawsuit
National Association of Immigration Judges v. McHenry
A lawsuit challenging a government policy silencing immigration judges
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Lawsuit
ACLU v. CIA & Knight Institute v. DOD
Two FOIA lawsuits seeking records related to the government censorship system of "prepublication review"
RESEARCH
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Essays and Scholarship
Beyond First Amendment Lochnerism: A Political Process Approach
Exploring the First Amendment's evolving role in America's democratic political process and private commercial sphere
By Tim Wu -
Essays and Scholarship
State Secrecy, Archival Negligence, and the End of History as We Know It
The collapse of the U.S. government's system for organizing, conserving, and revealing its activities.
By Matthew Connelly
Events
New York, NY
Press Freedom, National Security, and Whistleblowers: From Julian Assange to the White House
Human rights and national security experts, United Nations Rapporteurs, and freedom of expression lawyers discuss the debate around WikiLeaks’ publishing, Assange’s prosecution, and the future of whistleblowing
Columbia University, New York, NY
Between Truth and Power: A Conversation with Professor Julie Cohen of Georgetown Law
Professors discuss recent academic work around the coalescence of law and information technology
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Government Secrecy in the Age of Information Overload
Jameel Jaffer discusses shifts in government transparency between the Obama and Trump administrations in annual Salant Lecture on Freedom of the Press