Topics: Governmental Entities and Activities

• Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (1986)

  The Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography in 1986 recommended ways to halt the spread of pornography. Critics said some of the recommendations violated...

• Congress

  The Court has ruled that some laws passed by Congress violate the First Amendment. Some congressional investigations have raised questions about the right of...

• Congressional Investigations

  Cold War-era congressional investigations led to the Court recognizing the First Amendment right of an individual to refuse to answer questions about past...

• Constitutional Amending Process

  Some lawmakers have proposed amendments that would change provisions in the First Amendment, but to date, no such amendment has summoned enough support to pass...

• Established Churches in Early America

  When the First Amendment was ratified, it did not eliminate established churches in states where they existed. Eventually, all established churches were...

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

  FBI covert surveillance has created First Amendment controversy, as critics have accused it of political repression against those who criticize the government...

• Federal Communications Commission

  The FCC regulates scarce communications frequencies "in the public interest." Its power to regulate indecent programming has engendered First Amendment...

• Federal Radio Commission

  By controlling an overcrowded radio spectrum, the Federal Radio Commission, established in 1927, preserved First Amendment freedoms for listeners and...

• Federal Theatre Project

  The Federal Theatre Project strived to embody the First Amendment through their uncensored works. However, some of their productions were censored and...

• Federal Trade Commission

  The Federal Trade Commission regulates monopolies and stops unfair and deceptive business practices. Its regulation implicates First Amendment free expression...

• Federalism

  Federalism distributes power between national and state governments. The relation between federalism and the First Amendment has important dimensions involving...

• Food and Drug Administration

  The Food and Drug Administration's regulatory authority has been at the center of several cases revolving around the First Amendment protection of commercial...

• House Un-American Activities Committee

  The House Un-American Activities Committee took a prominent role in investigating communist activity. Its critics contend that it trampled First Amendment...

• President's Task Force on Communications Policy

  President Lyndon Johnson's task force on communication policy was a response to potential First Amendment problems with the new technologies of satellite...

• Securities and Exchange Commission

  The First Amendment's free speech guarantees have sometimes been used to challenge Securities and Exchange Commission regulations of communications about...

• Star Chamber

  The term star chamber refers pejoratively to any secret meeting held by a judicial body. The First Amendment supports the right of the public to attend criminal...