Murad Ali Bhatti and Siddharth Muchhal discuss amicus briefs supporting a challenge to a Trump administration immigration policy targeting researchers, fact-checkers, and trust & safety workers. The three briefs warn that the policy is already chilling online speech, research, and press freedom.

Several major law firms targeted by President Trump's executive orders appeared before a federal appeals court this week, per @npr.org. Last year, @knightcolumbia.org, @aclu.org, and other legal advocacy organizations filed amicus briefs supporting the firms’ challenges.

Episode 2 of "Lawyering Without Law" is out now. @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla speak with @hls.harvard.edu's @lessig.bsky.social about institutional corruption, economic dependence, and what happens when courts, Congress, law firms, and corporations drift from their founding purpose.

In a piece for our Reconstructing Free Expression series, @dorfonlaw.bsky.social writes about the importance of thoughtful public funding for local journalism and expanding liability for fraud to improve the health of our information ecosystem.

The legal profession is not outside the struggle over democracy. It is one of its battlegrounds. We're excited to announce the scholars and jurists contributing to our “Lawering Without Law” project with the Insitute’s Senior Fellow Madhav Khoslaon on the legal profession and authoritarianism.

Independent researchers help the public understand how social media platforms, AI, and other technologies shape everyday life. Following yesterday’s hearing in CITR v. Rubio, @thecoalition.bsky.social's @geurkink.bsky.social spoke about what’s at stake when that work gets silenced.

A lawyer for academics, journalists and researchers made a case in federal court against a Trump administration policy they say would chill free speech and adversely affect fact-checking.

In the latest contribution to our Reconstructing Free Expression series, @genevievelakier.bsky.social writes about the importance of restructuring the internal governance of private speech institutions to better align the incentives of institutional decision-makers and expressive actors.

We tend to think of corruption as bribery. @lessig.bsky.social says that’s “actually the least significant kind.” Episode 2 of "Lawyering Without Law" drops on Friday. Lessig joins us to discuss institutional corruption and how economic influence pulls Congress away from its representative purpose.

In a new op-ed for @inquirer.com, @thecoalition.bsky.social's @geurkink.bsky.social writes about how a U.S. immigration policy is targeting those who help the public understand social media. A federal court in D.C. will hear arguments this morning on CITR’s PI motion seeking to block the policy.

In advance of this morning’s oral argument, here’s a great piece from @thecoalition.bsky.social’s @geurkink.bsky.social on the ways in which this policy is making us all dumber.

@wsj.com reported receiving #DOJ subpoenas seeking reporters’ records over its coverage of Pentagon officials’ warnings to Trump about a military campaign in Iran. The Institute's @katiefallow.bsky.social says the subpoenas are the latest escalation in the administration’s attacks on the press.

The House teed up the bipartisan PRESS Act in January 2024, passing the bill unanimously. The Senate sat on it through that spring and summer. Trump tweeted against it in November 2024. And here we are. 1/

A federal court will hear arguments tomorrow on a PI motion in a case we brought with @protectdemocracy.org on behalf of @thecoalition.bsky.social, challenging a U.S. immigration policy targeting researchers. A new piece explains what three amicus briefs add and why it matters for online speech.

Murad Ali Bhatti & Siddharth Muchhal discuss amicus briefs supporting a challenge to a Trump administration immigration policy targeting researchers, fact-checkers, and trust & safety workers. The briefs warn that the policy is chilling online speech, research, and press freedom. @knightcolumbia.org

Excited about our newest @knightcolumbia.org essay from @himself.bsky.social and Cosma Shalizi, AI as Social Technology. Read Henry's 🧵 below for an overview - this piece offers a new way of thinking about AI's place in the longer Industrial Revolution, and how it will interact with bureaucracies.

knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a... Now up at @knightcolumbia.org - Cosma Shalizi and myself on "AI as Social Technology." It says that AI models are really a technology of social mediation that allow humans to connect with thoughts of other humans. Short-ish thread with major points follows.

A week ago, we launched "Lawyering Without Law," hosted by @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla. One question persists: What does it mean when democracy is under strain and those tasked with upholding it are slow to act? Episode 1 of the podcast, featuring @kimlanelaw.bsky.social, examines that.

Congratulations to @jameeljaffer.bsky.social on receiving the 2026 George Barrett Award for Public Interest Law from @sidneyhillman.bsky.social. In accepting the award, Jameel paid tribute to the Institute’s clients and partners, whose work defending democracy “should be a model for all of us.”

This was a very interesting convo with @kimlanelaw.bsky.social on @knightcolumbia.org 's new podcast about the challenges of being a lawyer when law is being used for authoritarian ends, and what lawyers and law SCHOOLS should be doing about it. Recommended! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

"We are, as a country, in this really perilous moment. I hope that the Institute can play an important part in bringing the country back from that brink and building a stronger system of free expression that is more resistant to authoritarian impulses and attacks," says @jameeljaffer.bsky.social.

"What Does Legal Authoritarianism Look Like?" -- first episode in @knightcolumbia.org's podcast series examining the legal profession in an era of authoritarianism features Princeton's Kim Lane Scheppele in conversation with @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla. knightcolumbia.org/content/lawy...

Read ISP Executive Director @chinmayiarun.bsky.social's new article, published by the @knightcolumbia.org: "The Right to Access Foreign Communicative Infrastructure" knightcolumbia.org/content/the-...

In a new essay, @chinmayiarun.bsky.social (@yaleisp.bsky.social) argues that foreign social media platforms are unique associational and speech infrastructures that should be treated differently from other foreign infrastructure, challenging the Supreme Court's view in #TikTok Inc. v. Garland.

We've launched a new @knightcolumbia.org podcast about lawyering and authoritarianism, and how law can function both as a safeguard for democratic governance and as a tool of its erosion. First episode is out 👇 and more to come, exploring the legal profession's duty to the rule of law itself.

“We’re very far into autocratic capture of our legal system.” That’s how @kimlanelaw.bsky.social describes the current moment—and what she breaks down in the first episode of Lawyering Without Law. Hosted by @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla. Listen: buzzsprout.com/2609059/episodes/19105365

We often think of authoritarianism as lawless. But it can operate through law itself. What does it mean for democracy when that happens? ⬇️ DROPS TOMORROW: Lawyering Without Law, a new biweekly podcast from the Knight First Amendment Institute. Available on all platforms.

"President Trump is trying to consolidate control over what Americans see and hear on the radio, television, and social media. If he gets his way, we’ll have only government-aligned media organizations that broadcast only government-approved news and commentary." @jameeljaffer.bsky.social

Knight Institute Warns that #FCC Review of Disney Broadcast Licenses Raises First Amendment Concerns After Trump Calls for #Kimmel’s Firing. Our statement from @jameeljaffer.bsky.social below. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Knight Institute commends @mayor.nyc.gov for vetoing NYC “buffer zone” bill restricting protest near schools. The Institute has warned both bills raise serious constitutional concerns and threaten to chill lawful protest. Statement from @georgewang.bsky.social: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

"The State Department is excluding tech researchers from the United States because of their constitutionally protected work, and this newly disclosed memo only underscores the unbounded scope and unconstitutionality of the policy" -- @carriedecell.bsky.social knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

New from the Knight First Amendment Institute: “Lawyering Without Law,” a podcast launching May 1. Hosted by @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla, it examines the role lawyers play in defending democracy or facilitating its decline. More: knightcolumbia.org/content/lawy...

The Knight Institute urges @mayor.nyc.gov to veto the “buffer zone” bill restricting protest near educational facilities and warns that both City Council measures raise serious constitutional concerns. Our statement from staff attorney @georgewang.bsky.social. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Very honored to receive this recognition for my work and for the work of all of my colleagues at @knightcolumbia.org. Thanks to @sidneyhillman.bsky.social and congratulations to all of the journalists being awarded Hillman Prizes as well. hillmanfoundation.org/george-barre...

“That Rümeysa felt she had to return to Turkey to escape the shadow of state violence says everything you need to know about the state of free speech and academic freedom in this country,” said Ramya Krishnan, an attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/17/m...

Platforms still shape what most people see online. A Knight Institute convening explored middleware—tools designed to give users more control over how content is filtered and ranked—and what it would take to loosen platforms’ grip on that process. Read more in @gabriel-tyler.bsky.social's recap.

Knight Institute Raises First Amendment Concerns Over Trump Threat to Compel Journalists to Reveal Sources Below is @jameeljaffer.bsky.social's statement. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Section 230 isn’t getting simpler. It’s getting harder to pin down, says policy director @nadinefj.bsky.social: “These questions are only becoming more and more challenging… Our concern is that this becomes a game of essentially whack-a-mole with every new iteration.” Read more in @cnbc.com.

In a letter to Congress this week, #ICE confirmed it has approved the use of a powerful #spyware tool, raising serious civil liberties concerns. The Knight Institute urges Congress to limit ICE's use of spyware technology. See @nadinefj.bsky.social's statement: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

As I previewed in my recent testimony before Senate Commerce, we need an approach to the online environment that addresses harms while protecting free speech -- structural reform centered on platform transparency, data privacy, & interoperability. More in @thehill.com at the link below:

Framing the #Section230 discussion as a choice between keeping the provision intact or scrapping it misses a key point: Repeal wouldn’t fix many of the concerns raised by lawmakers and advocates. Today in @thehill.com, policy director @nadinefj.bsky.social proposes a new legislative approach.

@knightcolumbia.org and @protectdemocracy.org last night filed a PI motion in our lawsuit on behalf of @thecoalition.bsky.social to block a U.S. #immigration policy that targets noncitizen social media researchers, fact-checkers, and trust and safety workers. knightcolumbia.org/content/tech...

⬇️ Kicking off at 9:00am ET. Tune in to our half-day convening Can Middleware Save Social Media? Livestream: www.youtube.com/live/m8_rOeg...

🚨EVENT TOMORROW (3/27): Can Middleware Save Social Media? In wrestling with the power social media platforms exert over free speech, Congress has repeatedly debated legislation that would protect user privacy and give users more control over their experience online. Info & RSVP: bit.ly/3P3Uf6M

"Tasking the NYPD to write the rules on where and how people may engage in lawful political protest risks chilling and criminalizing a wide range of activities protected by the First Amendment," says policy director @nadinefj.bsky.social. Read more: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

🔔 TODAY: Join EIPAD for a conversation about the Trump admin's escalating attacks on the First Amendment, featuring @attorneynora.bsky.social, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, and Ben Wizner, moderated by @laurenleharper.bsky.social. 🕖 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT RSVP: umass-amherst.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Curious about middleware? Wondering what I'm talking about? RSVP below for Friday's @knightcolumbia.org event on regulating social media, where experts including @oliviersylvain.bsky.social and @ethanz.bsky.social will hash it out. Join us in person (breakfast provided!) or online. Link below.

RSVP for our event tonight on free speech & the Trump admin. Experts from ACLU, Knight Institute, Free Press, Freedom of the Press Fdn. @laurenleharper.bsky.social @jameeljaffer.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org @aclu.org @freepress.bsky.social @freedom.press umass-amherst.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

📌 THIS FRIDAY 3/27, 9:00am-12:00pm ET (in-person in DC & online) Can #Middleware Save Social Media? Panel and keynote speaker details in thread ⬇️ RSVP: bit.ly/3P3Uf6M

Today 7pm eastern!! 👇 @freedom.press @aclu.org @freepress.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org