On December 5, 2019, Doc Society and the International Documentary Associate, U.S.-based documentary film organizations that host screenings and discussions with international partners, filed this lawsuit on behalf of themselves as well as their members and partners. The plaintiffs sued the U.S. State Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under the Administrative Procedure Act. They objected to the State Department's new “registration requirement” that required applicants for U.S. visas from abroad to register their social media identifiers from a host of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The U.S. government additionally claimed the authority to disseminate the handles abroad. The plaintiffs claimed this requirement exceeded the Secretary of State’s authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act and violated their free speech and association rights. Represented by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, the plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, asking the court to declare the registration requirement to be unlawful and to enjoin the government from enforcing or relying on them. The case was assigned to Judge Timothy J. Kelly.

Specifically, the complaint alleged that the "registration requirement," which compels disclosure of even pseudonymous social media accounts, has chilled their freedom of expression by causing applicants to use social media less freely than they otherwise would, or refrain from using it entirely. For pseudonymous users in particular, who seek to speak anonymously about controversial issues in order to protect themselves or their families from retaliation, the plaintiffs claimed that the requirement conditioned their eligibility for U.S. visas on their readiness to surrender their online anonymity.

As of January 2020, the defendants have not filed an answer and no motions were pending. This case is ongoing.

Chandler Hart-McGonigle - 01/31/2020


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