Freedom of Thought in the United States: The First Amendment, Marketplaces of Ideas, and the Internet

European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance (Forthcoming)

University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 445

46 Pages Posted: 5 May 2021 Last revised: 13 Jul 2021

See all articles by Leslie P. Francis

Leslie P. Francis

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: April 30, 2021

Abstract

Freedom of thought is not directly protected as a right in the United States. Instead, US First Amendment law protects a range of rights that may allow thoughts to be expressed. Freedom of speech has been granted especially robust protection. US courts have extended this protection to a wide range of commercial activities judged to have expressive content. In protecting these rights, US jurisprudence frequently relies on the image of the marketplace of ideas as furthering the search for truth. This commercial image, however, has increasingly detached expressive rights from the understanding of freedom of thought as a critical forum for individual autonomy. Indeed, the commercialization of US free speech doctrine has drawn criticism for “weaponizing” free speech to attack disfavoured economic and regulatory policies and thus potentially affecting freedom of thought adversely. The Internet complicates this picture. This paper argues that the Supreme Court’s expansion of the First Amendment for the benefit of commercial actors lies in the problematic tension with the justification for individual freedom of thought resting in personal self-direction and identity.

Keywords: Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, First Amendment, commercial speech, marketplace of ideas, identity autonomy

Suggested Citation

Francis, Leslie P., Freedom of Thought in the United States: The First Amendment, Marketplaces of Ideas, and the Internet (April 30, 2021). European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance (Forthcoming), University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 445, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3837517

Leslie P. Francis (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 S. University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States

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