The Coalition for Independent Technology Research sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi in Washington, DC, on May 13, seeking to block visa restrictions targeting researchers engaged in online content moderation and fact-checking. The complaint, filed with representation from Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute and Protect Democracy, claims the policy announced by Rubio on X violates First Amendment speech rights and due process for foreign-born researchers whose work supports platform accountability, as detailed in the primary complaint and May 21, 2026, Technology Review reporting. Court proceedings centered on the policy’s vagueness, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachariah Lindsey arguing it addresses conduct assisting foreign government censorship rather than protected speech; a motion to dismiss was filed by the government while plaintiffs requested a preliminary injunction, citing State Department announcements from 2025. Related filings reference patterns in prior executive actions on immigration and speech, including 2025 DHS and DOJ statements on the “censorship-industrial complex,” cross-referenced with Knight Institute amicus records on visa enforcement.