Biden Administration Undermines Democracy While Accusing Others of Undermining Democracy Print
BY TIMOTHY H. LEE
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 2024
In other words, government cannot simply outsource its censorship efforts to private parties to do their dirty work.
We are not the first court to look through forms to the substance and recognize that informal censorship may sufficiently inhibit the circulation of publications to warrant injunctive relief.
That was the United States Supreme Court in Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan (1963), which held that government can violate First Amendment free speech protections even through “thinly veiled threats” against private parties whose refusal to cooperate would violate no law.
It’s a common misconception among the public, and even many attorneys, that the First Amendment only protects against direct government coercion through explicit threats or enforcement.
Neither assumption is correct.
First, as noted above, suggestive intimidation and coercive persuasion can constitute unconstitutional suppression of speech, even without direct compulsion or prosecution.
https://cfif.org/v/index.php/commentary/42-constitution-and-legal/6741-biden-administration-undermines-democracy-while-accusing-others-of-undermining-democracy
