Can the Government Pressure Private Companies to Stifle Speech?

On March 18, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Murthy v. Missouri and NRA v. Vullo—two cases in which government officials allegedly pressured private companies to target disfavored viewpoints. Alex Abdo of the Knight First Amendment Institute and David Greene of the Electronic Frontier Foundation join Jeffrey Rosen to break down both cases. Together they discuss the state action doctrine, explore the line between coercion and persuasion, and interrogate the tension between government speech and private speech. 

 

Resources: 

• Murthy v. Missouri (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript) 
• NRA v. Vullo (oral argument via C-SPAN; transcript) 
• Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan (1963) 
• Alex Abdo, Brief in Support of Neither Party, Murthy v. Missouri 
• David Greene, Brief in Support of Neither Party, Murthy v. Missouri 
• David Greene and Karen Gullo, “Lawmakers: Ban TikTok to Stop Election Misinformation! Same Lawmakers: Restrict How Government Addresses Election Misinformation!,” EFF (March 15, 2024) 

 

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