Institute For Free Speech
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Issue Advocacy: A Cornerstone of Democracy
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

The First Amendment protects speech from burdensome government regulation. Until the 1970s, federal law largely did not regulate either campaign speech or issue speech by advocacy groups. That changed with the adoption of the Federal Election Campaign Act. The Act attempted to regulate any speech “relative to a clearly identified candidate.” This law, and the subsequent Supreme Court decision Buckley…

Alaska Policy Forum v. Alaska Public Offices Commission
August 11, 2021   •  By IFS Staff   •  , , ,

Think tanks have a First Amendment right to educate the public about their views and advocate for the policies they believe are best. States ...

If Corporations Can Speak, Then They Can Speak Freely
July 27, 2021   •  By Nathan Maxwell   •  , , ,

When the Georgia General Assembly took on voting rules in March, partisan attitudes toward corporate speech rights inverted, with Republicans now opposed and Democrats ...

MAXWELL: Joe Manchin’s ‘Compromise’ On Voting Rules Is A Trojan Horse For Censorship
July 20, 2021   •  By Nathan Maxwell   •  , , ,

The DISCLOSE Act, a tortured acronym for “Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections,” is a part of both S. 1 ...

Proponents Say H.R. 1 and S. 1 Will End “Dark Money.” They Won’t.
June 16, 2021   •  By Alex Baiocco   •  , , ,

If a bill fails to pass in every session of Congress for a decade because groups across the ideological spectrum oppose its constitutional infirmities, ...

Groups Across Political Spectrum Unite to Fight Anti-Citizen Privacy Provisions in H.R. 1 and S. 1
June 14, 2021   •  By Tiffany Donnelly   •  , , ,

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently told reporters that the Senate will vote in late June on Democrats’ sprawling bill package that will radically ...

Wyoming Gun Owners v. Buchanan
June 1, 2021   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

If the First Amendment means anything, it means that government cannot punish Americans for speaking about politics and public policy. Wyoming’s speech laws exceed ...

Senators embarrass themselves defending S.1 bill’s assault on free speech
May 13, 2021   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , , , , ,

How do you defend a bill that would subsidize politicians' campaigns, expose people to harassment for their beliefs, and impose a partisan takeover of ...

How the For the People Act could supercharge cancel culture
April 2, 2021   •  By Brad Smith   •  , , , ,

Many of H.R. 1's provisions would expose supporters of controversial causes, providing new ways to dox people and turbocharging an already malignant cancel culture.

IFS Chairman Bradley A. Smith Criticizes “Cynicism” of S. 1 in Opening Statement at Senate Rules Committee Hearing
March 24, 2021   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , , , , , , ,

At a March 24 hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Institute for Free Speech Chairman Bradley A. Smith warned that ...

Testimony of Bradley A. Smith Before the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee on S. 1
March 24, 2021   •  By Brad Smith   •  , , , , , , ,

The Institute for Free Speech writes to express serious concerns about the devastating effect H.R. 1 would have on Americans’ freedom of speech and ...

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