Free Speech: Threats, Limits and Challenges

Chapter 1 reports on freedom of expression and China's pervasive and unrelenting efforts to stifle speech at home and now increasingly abroad. Chapter 2 discusses the overarching First Amendment principles that bear on what the government may regulate under the First Amendment, including (1) the distinction between regulating conduct and speech; (2) the presumed invalidity of content-based laws; and (3) relevant "unprotected" categories of speech that generally can be restricted because of their content. The constitutional considerations in crafting new regulations of false speech are reviewed in chapter 3. Chapter 4 looks at how online political ads are more likely than their offline counterparts to include false claims and facilitate foreign influence in U.S. elections. These criticisms have led to calls for more government regulation of online political advertising. Chapter 5 discusses how courts have decided significant First Amendment challenges to nonconsensual pornography laws at the state level. Chapters 6 and 7 explore the FACT Act and free speech.