Anna Diakun
Anna Diakun is a staff attorney and managing attorney, fellowship program, at the Knight Institute. Her litigation focuses on government transparency and government surveillance of speech.
Diakun is leading the Knight Institute’s effort to secure the release of records related to the Trump administration’s restrictions on speech of CDC scientists. She is also on the Knight Institute’s litigation team in Doc Society v. Blinken, challenging the government’s mass collection and indefinite retention of visa applicants’ social media identifiers. She previously led litigation on behalf of Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Knight Institute to secure the release of records concerning government surveillance of journalists, as well as litigation seeking the disclosure of secret Office of Legal Counsel opinions issued at least 25 years ago.
Prior to joining the Institute, Diakun was a fellow with the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, where she worked on issues related to the government’s use of lethal force abroad, military detention, surveillance, and discrimination against racial and religious minorities. Her work included a challenge to the unlawful detention of an American by the U.S. military abroad in Doe v. Mattis, which resulted in his release from custody.
She has been quoted or published in The Washington Post, the Columbia Journalism Review, Just Security, Politico, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Intercept, Defense One, and USA Today.
Diakun holds a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College, an M.A. in International Relations and European Studies from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. During law school, she served as a student director of the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic and as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, she served as a law clerk for the Hon. Allyson K. Duncan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
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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
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 -
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Quick Take
Why is Biden Doubling Down on Trump’s Surveillance Policy?
State Department refuses to disclose Biden administration report on social media visa vetting
By Anna Diakun -
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
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 -
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 : 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 -
Institute Update
Knight Institute and Reporters Committee Urge Attorney General Garland to Ensure Compliance with the Freedom of Information Act
Groups lay out steps for newly confirmed attorney general to take now
By Anna Diakun -
Institute Update
Knight Institute, ACLU, and More than 40 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Embrace a More Open Government
Letter proposes steps the administration could take immediately
By Anna Diakun -
Quick Take
Biden Administration Signals Openness to Reconsidering Social Media Surveillance of Visa Applicants
Orders a review of a dangerous Trump administration screening and vetting policy and ends discriminatory executive order that led to it
By Anna Diakun -
Analysis
Redactions in CDC Communications Policies Leave Key Questions Unanswered
By Anna DiakunNewly released CDC documents, confirm Office of Vice President’s involvement in CDC Covid-19 communications but leave important details concealed