Federal Judge Upholds Texas’ TikTok Ban on State-Owned Devices

The lawsuit argued the ban on official devices – which extends to public universities – was impeding academic freedom and compromising their ability to do research.

Lawsuit Against Texas Attorney General Who Blocked Critics on Twitter is Dismissed

On July 9th, nine constituents dismissed their lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after he agreed to unblock them from his Twitter account. The nine plaintiffs, who were represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute, sued Paxton in April after he blocked them for criticizing some of his policies.

Civil Liberties Groups Petition Supreme Court to Unseal “Secret” Surveillance Court Rulings

Most court opinions are made publicly available under the First Amendment so that people can understand what the law is and have trust in the judicial process. That is not the case for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) which decides when government agencies can spy on suspected foreign agents, and can sometimes target American citizens as well.

Constituents Sue Texas Attorney General For Blocking Them on Twitter

Filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Austin Division on April 8th, the complaint argues that because the Attorney General uses @KenPaxtonTX for “official purposes,” his account is a public forum and blocking users based on their viewpoint is a violation of the First Amendment.

Supreme Court Ends Four-Year-Long Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Blocking of Critics on Twitter

On April 5th, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the Second Circuit’s decision in Knight First Amendment Institute v. Donald Trump, a long-running lawsuit challenging former President Donald Trump’s pattern of blocking critics from his personal Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump. 

Justice Department Asks SCOTUS To Vacate Knight v. Trump Ruling

A day before Joe Biden's inauguration, the Justice Department under Donald Trump made a last-minute effort to undo a major court decision related to public official's social media accounts.

ICYMI: First Amendment Stories That Broke Over the 2020 Holidays

A federal judge in Virginia dismissed one of Rep. Devin Nunes' (R-CA) defamation suits against The Washington Post, the Federal Aviation Agency released long-awaited drone guidelines, a British judge rejected the U.S. government's request to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and more.

UK Judge Refuses to Extradite Julian Assange to the U.S. to Face Espionage Charges

A British judge refused the United State’s request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after finding there was a “substantial” risk that he would harm himself. “I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate, causing him to commit suicide with the single-minded determination of his autism spectrum disorder,” District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said in a ruling released on January 4th.