Citizens United v Federal Election Commission

Citizens United v Federal Election Commission is a 2010 decision of the United States Supreme Court on the free speech rights of corporations in political campaigns. The nonprofit corporation Citizens United sought to broadcast and advertise a film critical of a presidential candidate close to a primary election, which federal campaign finance law restricted as a corporate funded electioneering communication. The Court held by a five to four majority that the First Amendment bars the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations, labor unions and other associations, because political speech does not lose constitutional protection simply because its speaker is a corporate entity. The decision struck down key restrictions on independent campaign spending and remains one of the most consequential and debated First Amendment rulings in modern American law.