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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…

When Speech Bans Aren’t So Foreign
October 23, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  , ,

Well before the 2018 midterms were underway, a number of social media companies were working to curb activity by foreigners aimed at influencing U.S. elections on their ...

Advocacy Groups: Made from Love
October 19, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  , ,

Another day, another accusation about paid protesters. As the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process moved to its final stages, President Trump took to Twitter to ...

First Amendment Analysis: South Dakota Ballot Measures
October 17, 2018   •  By Owen Yeates   •  , , , ,

Initiated Measure 24 is an outright ban on speech—if a topic happens to be on the ballot, out-of-state speakers cannot spend money in South ...

When it matters most, Americans can’t speak freely right before Election Day
October 4, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  , , ,

Oppose or support the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, it seems everyone has an opinion about him. Yet at this ...

Wells Fargo Closes Campaign’s Bank Account over Disagreement with Donors
August 21, 2018   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Add a new chapter to the debate over private regulation of speech. Wells Fargo closed the bank account of a Florida candidate who received campaign contributions ...

Money spent in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation battle is good for democracy
August 16, 2018   •  By David Keating   •  , ,

America enters a generational Supreme Court nomination battle divided. But one aspect of the fight over nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh shows our democracy is ...

Analysis Of November 2018 North Dakota Campaign Finance/Lobbying Initiated Constitutional Amendment
August 14, 2018   •  By Eric Wang   •  , , ,

The Institute for Free Speech (“IFS”)[3] provides the following analysis of the voter-initiated campaign finance and lobbying amendment to North Dakota’s State Constitution that ...

Be on the Lookout: Four Red Flags in Bills that Will Chill Online Speech
August 9, 2018   •  By Eric Peterson   •  , ,

The Internet and social media outreach are more important than ever to campaigns. As a result, legislators face a temptation to regulate this growing ...

Media or Not, the First Amendment Protects Your Right to Unlimited Speech
August 3, 2018   •  By Alex Baiocco   •  , ,

Hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper recently announced that he purchased the Chicago local news site Chicagoist. Part of the Gothamist family of local news outlets, the publication was previously ...

Setting the Record Straight: A Response to CLC’s Attacks on Judge Kavanaugh
July 18, 2018   •  By Brad Smith   •  , , , ,

When Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court last month, the Institute for Free Speech conducted a thorough review of the First ...

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