Ramya Krishnan
Ramya Krishnan is a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute and a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School. Her litigation focuses on issues related to government transparency, protest, privacy, and social media.
Krishnan leads the Knight Institute’s litigation in Zuckerman v. Meta Platforms Inc., which asks the court to recognize that Section 230 protects the development of tools that empower social media users to control what they see online. She also leads the Institute's litigation in National Association of Immigration Judges v. Neal, challenging government policies that gag the nation’s immigration judges. She was a central member of the team challenging “prepublication review,” a far-reaching censorship system that prohibits millions of former public servants from speaking without first obtaining government approval. She has authored amicus briefs defending state privacy laws from First Amendment challenge, challenging retaliatory deportations against immigrant activists, and supporting the right of state contractors to engage in BDS boycotts. She has also led the Institute’s advocacy efforts calling on Congress to establish a legal safe harbor for platform research.
Krishnan has been published or quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, among other publications. She was the Knight Institute’s inaugural legal fellow. Prior to joining the Institute, she litigated constitutional and administrative law cases on behalf of the Australian government. From 2013-2014, she served as law clerk for the Hon. Robert Beech Jones, then a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, now a Justice of the High Court of Australia.
Krishnan holds a B.A. and LL.B. (First Class Honors) from the University of Sydney, where she served as an editor of the Sydney Law Review, and an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Raymond J. Baer Scholar.
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Deep Dive
How the Supreme Court Could Encourage Platform Transparency
Without chilling free speech
By Ramya Krishnan -
Quick Take
Why Republican Attorneys General are Wrong About Constitutionality of Proposed SEC Climate Rules
Knight Institute, legal scholars argue First Amendment should be no obstacle to rules
By Ramya Krishnan -
Essays and Scholarship
How the Biden Administration and Congress Can Fix Prepublication Review: A Roadmap for Reform
Prepublication review is a sweeping and broken system in need of repair
By Jameel Jaffer , Alex Abdo , Meenakshi Krishnan & Ramya Krishnan -
Essays and Scholarship
A Safe Harbor for Platform Research
Knight Institute policy paper proposes legal protection for certain research and newsgathering projects focused on platforms
By Alex Abdo , Ramya Krishnan , Stephanie Krent , Evan Welber Falcón & Andrew Keane Woods -
Deep Dive : Toward a Better Internet
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Facebook?
Start with Congress enabling more research and journalism focused on social media platforms
By Ramya Krishnan & Alex Abdo -
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Deep Dive
The Pitfalls of Platform Analogies in Reconsidering the Shape of the First Amendment
Krishnan responds to “After the ‘Great Deplatforming’: Reconsidering the shape of the First Amendment,” by Genevieve Lakier and Nelson Tebbe
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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 -
Analysis
Concentrating on Social Meaning: Talking to Ramya Krishnan
Discussing the intersection of data privacy and the First Amendment
By Andy Fitch & Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
A District Court Endorses a Broken Prepublication Review System
The ruling is troubling and a step in the wrong direction
By Alex Abdo , Jameel Jaffer , Meenakshi Krishnan & Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
John Bolton's Silence — Here’s How He Could Lawfully Break It
How Bolton could publicly share his story
By Jameel Jaffer & Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
We May Never See John Bolton's Book
A New York Times op-ed by Jameel Jaffer and Ramya Krishnan on the dangers of prepublication review
By Jameel Jaffer & Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government's Prepublication Review System
For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information Act requests relating to “prepublication review.” Under this far-reaching censorship system, millions...
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Report Reveals New Details About DOJ's Seizing of AP Phone Records
With its latest leak indictment last week, the Department of Justice under Donald Trump is now on pace to break the previous record for prosecutions of journalists’ sources, just two and a half years into its administration. A new report...
By Ramya Krishnan & Trevor Timm -
Analysis
The Government’s Own Documents Show that Prepublication Review Is Broken
Thousands of documents obtained through FOIA show that prepublication review is a tangled mess
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
The Government’s System of Censoring Its Former Employees Is Unconstitutional
Lawsuit argues government’s process for reviewing writings by millions of former government employees violates First Amendment
By Ramya Krishnan & Vera Eidelman -
Analysis
NSA and CIA Refuse to Confirm or Deny Whether They Followed Duty-to-Warn Procedures before Murder of Khashoggi
Agencies release redacted documents relating to "duty to warn" procedures, but refuse to say whether they considered warning Khashoggi
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Intel Chief Won’t Confirm or Deny Whether U.S. Agencies Considered Warning Khashoggi
ODNI "Glomars" request for documents on journalist's murder, neither confirming nor denying that documents exist
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Immigrants' First Amendment Rights at Stake as the Second Circuit Hears Ragbir Case
Appeals court considers if federal immigration officers can retaliate against immigrant activists who exercise their First Amendment rights
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Targeting Journalists Under FISA: New Documents Reveal DOJ’s Secret Rules
Records suggest U.S. government is using FISA court orders to monitor journalists
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
More Questions Than Answers from DOJ Letter About Journalist Surveillance
New DOJ disclosure on surveillance of the press provides little assurance on journalists' ability to protect confidential sources
By Ramya Krishnan -
Analysis
Comey's Book and Prepublication Review
James Comey's blockbuster memoir sailed through the byzantine world of prepublication review. But for other public servants, publishing their stories can be frustrating and discouraging
By Ramya Krishnan