The case for ignoring censorship orders
AP Photo/Jim Wells
Bars on publication, also known as prior restraints, are a serious violation of free speech.
The First Amendment forbids nearly all orders barring the press from publishing information, also known as prior restraints. But that doesn’t stop the government from trying.
For nearly 100 years, the Supreme Court has consistently rejected prior restraints on the press, including in its famous decision in the Pentagon Papers case. But lower courts and government officials continue to violate the Constitution by trying to gag the press from publishing, withholding vital information from the public. Prior restraints are antithetical to press freedom and must be stopped.
Featured Items
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The First Amendment doesn’t matter to Ken Paxton
The Texas attorney general is “investigating” Media Matters for its reporting. Traditional journalists and news outlets could be next
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Florida lawmaker renews attack on the free press
New bill would undermine anonymous sourcing and invite libel tourism
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Local government retaliation through public notice contracts must end
Funding local news may be the best response if officials continue to yank contracts in response to critical news coverage
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The GOP’s press freedom problem is bigger than Trump
Republican politicians have flipped from rallying against censorship to threatening baseless prosecutions of journalists
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Journalists must be allowed to cover protests and their aftermath
From Cop City to the National Gallery of Art, officers continue to ignore the First Amendment and harass journalists covering civil unrest
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Bail terms bar illegally arrested Alabama journalists from reporting
Unconstitutional prior restraint adds to pattern of retaliation and censorship
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FPF statement on inexcusable arrests of Alabama journalists
Grand jury secrecy rules are not prior restraints on journalism
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Ambiguous gag order could silence the press in North Carolina
If the court did not intend to censor the media, it needs to promptly clarify to avoid chilling press freedom
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Judge gets it wrong in censoring the Post-Dispatch
An unconstitutional order once again extends a prior restraint on newspaper
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Freeze out: Politicians retaliate against the press using public notices
Anti-press lawmakers are attacking the press by yanking contracts to publish public notices or ending requirements to publish notices in newspapers entirely
