Institute For Free Speech

Citizens United: Affirming Government Can’t Ban Speech
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a 2010 Supreme Court decision that restored some of the First Amendment rights of corporations and unions that had been restricted under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The case was brought by Citizens United, a nonprofit organization that wished to advertise and distribute a documentary film critical of Hillary Clinton in…

Citizens United’s gift to free speech
February 2, 2025   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Citizens United stands as a victory, not for corporate interests but for the fundamental principle that the remedy for speech with which we disagree ...

Happy 15th Anniversary, Citizens United
January 21, 2025   •  By Tiffany Donnelly & Helen Knowles-Gardner   •  ,

Fifteen years ago today, the United States Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Pennsylvania lawmakers must protect free speech in elections
August 29, 2024   •  By David Keating   •  , , ,

A bill purporting to stop “foreign influence in elections” might sound like a good idea. But, as the saying goes, don’t judge a book ...

Letter to House Leadership on No Foreign Election Interference Act
June 6, 2024   •  By IFS Staff   •  , ,

On June 6, 2024, the Institute for Free Speech sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem ...

Minnesota’s Xenophobic Restrictions on Speech
December 17, 2023   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

The Minnesota law is typical of these measures, making Monday’s hearing an early test of their constitutionality. The law defines “foreign-influenced corporations” as including any U.S. ...

Josh Hawley misses the mark on Citizens United
November 20, 2023   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

The illiberal Left reacted to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission with hysteria.

Do States with Fewer Campaign Finance Regulations Have More Corruption?
May 24, 2023   •  By Alec Greven   •  , , ,

New research finds that states ranking highly for free political expression are not highly ranked states for corruption. In fact, states that have the ...

Corporate Political Spending and State Tax Policy: Evidence from Citizens United

 Default Article
August 14, 2022   •  By IFS staff   •  , , ,

Abstract To what extent is U.S. state tax policy affected by corporate political contributions? The 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ...

Issue Analysis No. 12: Did Citizens United Harm Political Participation?
September 20, 2021   •  By Alec Greven   •  , , ,

When the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. FEC in 2010, many critics argued it would have a devastating impact on democracy. This analysis ...

Assumptions Gone Awry: New Book Casts Further Doubt on “Appearance of Corruption” Legal Standard
July 7, 2021   •  By Alec Greven   •  , , , , , ,

In an insightful new book, The Appearance of Corruption: Testing the Supreme Court’s Assumptions about Campaign Finance Reform, three political scientists examine the Court's ...

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