Taking Stock of the First Amendment's Application to Securities Regulation

Abstract

Securities regulations that compel or prohibit corporate disclosure have faced little First Amendment scrutiny, even though at least some of this compelled disclosure fits squarely within the Supreme Court's definition of protected commercial speech. Although several scholars argued otherwise in the late 1980s and early 1990s, most academics have rejected the application of the First Amendment to securities regulation. This article examines whether the so called securities exemption to the First Amendment is warranted.

Keywords: First Amendment, securities regulation, government regulation