Censorship in the United States

When the American colonists drafted laws before 1776, they borrowed from English precedents regarding personal rights and liberties but went far beyond Great Britain in the fields of freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. After the American Revolution and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, these freedoms were guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. (1)

The Censorship contents in this American legal Encyclopedia includes: Censorship, Protection from Censorship, Censorship of Obscenity and Censorship Private Action. See an overview of the worldwide treatment of Censorship here.

Censorship (Internet Law)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of censorship. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Internet Lawin relation to censorship is provided. Note that a list of bibliography resources and other aids appears at the end of this entry.

Resources

Notes and References

Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Censorship in the U.S.

Note: for information about Censorship, see Censorship here.

Protection from Censorship

The 1st Amendment, in broad terms, forbids Congress from enacting laws that would regulate speech or press before publication or punish after publication. At various times many states passed laws in contradiction to the freedoms guaranteed in the 1st Amendment. For example, in the pre-American Civil War period abolitionist literature against slavery was outlawed in the South. In the 1920s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the guarantee of liberty in the due process clause of the 14th Amendment (adopted in 1868) makes the 1st Amendment applicable also to the states. The Supreme Court has held that although all previous restraint on publication is unconstitutional, exceptional circumstances may justify such restraint—in wartime, for instance, publication of the number, location, or sailing dates of troops may be prohibited.

Public officials and all official acts, including the existence of government itself, may be openly criticized and attacked by speech or publication, provided only that the words used are not of such a nature and are not used in such circumstances as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress [or the state] has a right to prevent. The classic example is that a person has no right to shout Fire! in a crowded theater when there is no fire. Thus, a person addressing an angry mob has no right to urge them on to riot, which would be a clear and present danger to the peace and security of the community. Cases in which a court was persuaded that such a danger had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, however, have been extremely rare.

In 1971 the Supreme Court considered the sensational Pentagon Papers case. A 47-volume official classified report on U.S. policy in Vietnam came into the possession of Daniel Ellsberg, a former federal official. The New York Times and several other leading newspapers began publishing parts of the report. The government asked for an injunction to stop publication. In considering the case, the Court said that any prior restraint on publication comes before the courts with a heavy presumption that it is unconstitutional, and that the government must prove that the restraint is justified. The Court, by a 6-3 vote, refused to bar the newspapers from reprinting the report.

Less dramatic expressions of a spirit of censorship have tended to persist. In some state or local communities textbook commissions or school boards have exerted pressure on authors and publishers to omit from or include in school texts certain materials relating to various sensitive areas such as evolution, the biblical account of creation, discussions of religious or racial groups, and expressions that are allegedly sexist. Some groups have attempted to pressure public and school libraries to prevent circulation of books and periodicals they consider morally or otherwise offensive. In the past, serious censorship problems were presented by the operations of the U.S. Post Office and the Customs Bureau, which refused to allow certain books and other materials to be brought into the country or sent through the mails. Since the early 1970s, however, court decisions, congressional legislation, and administrative regulations have resolved most of these problems, at least for the present.

Private Action

One U.S. industry, the film industry, has for many years practiced a form of self-censorship. In the 1920s, responding to public demands for strong controls, the Motion Picture Association of America imposed on its constituents a Production Act; compliance with its standards gave a movie a seal of approval. A system of film classification was begun in 1968 and has been revised several times since then. Films are given ratings, as follows: G (general audiences), PG (parental guidance advised), PG-13 (may not be suitable for preteens), R (persons under age 17 not admitted unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian), and NC-17 (persons under age 17 not admitted; replaced the X rating in 1990).

For the television and radio industries the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has generally promulgated vague rules about program content containing an implied threat that a license can be revoked for repeated poor judgment involving program content. In 1987, however, the FCC responded to public complaints by adopting measures to restrict the use of explicit language about sex and bodily functions from the broadcasting media. Another code, designed by the National Association of Broadcasters, is voluntarily adhered to by station operators. The major networks also have their own self-regulating system. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), for example, has a staff of people who review scripts and watch everything that is aired on CBS-TV, including commercials; every contract with a producer provides that the project is subject to approval under this system.

In the U.S. many different private groups attempt to influence government agencies, businesses, libraries, radio and television broadcasters, newspapers, and other communications media to suppress material that they consider objectionable. Religious, ethnic, and racial groups have tried to prevent plays, movies, and television programs from being presented because of elements they deem offensive.

One private group, the American Civil Liberties Union, promotes the open flow of all types of information in the belief that individuals should have free access and opportunities for the exercise of their personal discretion and that no group should limit the availability of the resources from which such choices are made.

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

The denial of the right of freedom of speech and press (in U.S. law) and of all those rights and privileges one expects under a free government. Totalitarian governments have generally censored on political grounds, but in democracies censorship has largely ceased, save during wartime.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

What is Censorship?

For a meaning of it, read Censorship in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Censorship.

Censorship

Censorship in the United States