Articles

The best commercial of 2012, or, “who’s afraid of commercial speech?”

November 28, 2012 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

A few days ago, AdWeek named this the best commercial of 2012. For about half a century now, the Supreme Court has allowed government to restrict the expressive rights of business owners under the theory of “commercial speech.” The idea is that this is a special kind of speech which can be more stringently regulated … ...

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Businesses should have the right to join in democratic discussion

December 20, 2012 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

In 1765, Philadelphia printer William Bradford protested against the Stamp Act by printing this symbol in the spot where people were supposed to attach the required tax stamp. Bradford was complying with the law—while drawing people’s attention to the injustice of the tax. Bradford’s act was not unusual: business owners were at the he ...

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President's weekly report — December 28, 2012

December 28, 2012 | By ROB RIVETT

There were only a few developments in this week between holidays. Let us hope that the New Year is a good one for liberty and limited government. Individual Rights — Equality Under the Law Project Connerly v. State of California, the Superior Court held that the appointment of members of the California Citizen Redistricting Commission … ...

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President's weekly report — May 3, 2013

May 03, 2013 | By ROB RIVETT

Environment — Endangered Species – Wolverine We filed our comments on the listing of the Wolverine as a “distinct population segment” of a subspecies.  The problem here is that the Endangered Species Act does not countenance the listing of such a thing.  The government may list species, subspecies, and even “distinct ...

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I left my speech rights when I entered San Francisco

May 10, 2013 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera has decided that Monster energy drinks are bad for you.  He’s also decided that Monster has to broadcast that message to its consumers. Mere months after ending its battle with cell phone purveyors, the City of San Francisco is embroiled in another commercial speech fight.  This week, the Office & ...

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A defeat for free speech in California

December 20, 2013 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

In Beeman v. TDI Managed Care Services, the Ninth Circuit certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether a statute requiring prescription drug claims processors to compile and summarize information on pharmacy fees for the purpose of distributing that information to pharmacies is compelled speech, in violation of the state consti ...

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PLF asks US Supreme Court to hear broadcasters out

April 18, 2014 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

For years, FCC has prohibited public broadcasters from showing paid advertisements by for-profit entities or political candidates.  So when Minority TV—a non-profit channel out of San Francisco—aired advertisements for Korean Air, Gingko Biloba Tea, and the like, FCC scrambled to silence them (and fine them $10,000.)  Minority TV sought refug ...

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Supreme Court denies cert in Minority TV free speech case

June 30, 2014 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

Today the Supreme Court denied cert in a First Amendment challenge to the FCC’s ban on certain types of paid advertising on public television stations. The ban prohibits commercials for for-profit businesses and politicians, but allows the stations to broadcast ads for non-profit entities. The Minority Television Project (Minority TV), a publ ...

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If a tree falls in the forest, don't take a selfie with it

October 06, 2014 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Last month, the Forest Service proposed a regulation that would require permits costing as much as $1500 to take photographs or film on Forest Service land. The public response has been overwhelmingly negative I tried but couldn’t make the sentence long enough for all the criticism…. To put this simply enough that a Forest Service R ...