Tech-Savvy Justices Protect Free Speech

[Commentary] The branch of government that seems to understand technology best is the one whose members take notes on legal pads, not iPads.

It didn't take long for the political branches of government to prove how right the justices of the Supreme Court were when they recently upheld the political speech rights of corporations and unions. The court's opinion earlier this year in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission said that politicians could not enact limits on independent campaign contributions targeting corporations or unions. President Barack Obama famously chided the justices for this opinion during his State of the Union Address. Congress is considering a bill that would again specify who could no longer speak freely, including companies that received Troubled Asset Relief Program funding (meaning the key banks) and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-based companies. The same restrictions would not limit the speech of unions with large foreign activities. Political parties would get discounts on broadcast advertisements to respond to corporations or unions. Citizens United has been viewed as a case about campaign reform, but it's better read as a broad, 21st-century primer on free speech.