Corporate Governance: Civic Engagement by Businesses is Good for Democracy

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Corporations, like unions and other organizations, have a constitutional right to discuss politics. In fact, Americans expect companies to advocate for policies that protect their employees’ jobs, reduce costs to consumers, and spur technological innovation and growth. The courts have sanctioned the political speech rights of corporations on many occasions. Having lost the constitutional battle, those who oppose corporate speech…

Without Citizens United, that new Borat movie would be illegal

November 2, 2020   •  By Eric Wang   •  , , ,

Fans of the new Borat sequel should thank the Supreme Court’s much-maligned and misunderstood Citizens United decision. Without that ruling, America would resemble the autocratic regime in Borat’s ...

Highlights of First Amendment-Related Exchanges Between Judge Barrett and Senate Judiciary Committee Members

The Institute for Free Speech reviewed transcripts of Judge Barrett’s answers to questions from members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during days two ...

Has Citizens United Increased Corruption? An Examination of Public Corruption Prosecutions

September 3, 2020   •  By Alec Greven   •  , , ,

Ten years after the Citizens United decision, this report asks if opponents' claims that increased speech through independent expenditures would lead to increased corruption ...

The 2020 election could see record lows for ‘dark money’ influence

September 2, 2020   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

Dark money could be trending toward a record low this election cycle.

Pledges Against Corporate PACs Do Little but Confuse and Harm

August 26, 2020   •  By Nathan Maxwell   •  , , ,

Candidate pledges denouncing support from select groups tend to utilize public misunderstanding of campaign finance law to generate the facade of moral superiority, trade ...

2020 shows money can’t buy elections, so let’s remove restrictive contribution limits

July 14, 2020   •  By Nathan Maxwell   •  , , ,

This piece originally appeared in the Washington Examiner on July 13, 2020.   We should have learned our lesson by now. In elections, it’s not ...

House Draft COVID-19 Emergency Bill Contains Hidden Threats to First Amendment Rights

March 24, 2020   •  By Zac Morgan   •  , ,

Yesterday, Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives unveiled a draft bill ostensibly intended to address the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

Seattle Moves To Silence Dissent From Corporations

January 15, 2020   •  By Eric Wang   •  , , ,

This piece originally appeared in Daily Caller on January 15, 2020.   When government seeks to enact laws that harm your interests, should you ...

No: Government shouldn’t dictate views we’re allowed to hear

May 9, 2019   •  By Brad Smith   •  , ,

Can the government ban political speech based on the identity of the speaker, or the mechanism that the speaker uses to communicate to fellow ...

Risky Business: Do disclosure and shareholder approval of corporate political contributions affect firm performance?

May 8, 2019   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

Abstract: The role of corporations in the U.S. political process has received increased scrutiny in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ...

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