Some free speech enthusiasts and First Amendment activists are complaining about CBS’s decision not to air commercials from the radical leftist organization, MoveOn.org. Just like when the decision was made not to air the Ronald Reagan movie, these people are claiming that it is political censorship running amok of the First Amendment.
Unfortunately, these “enthusiasts” aren’t quite enthusiastic enough about the US Constitution. I’m not sure which is the case, but they either haven’t read it, or just don’t understand it. The US Constitution, and everything within it, including the First Amendment, is a document that binds the government. The US Constitution means absolutely nothing to private entities. Whether the entire US Constitution even binds the states is still a topic of discussion for many academics (the 14th Amendment made this question very hard to answer).
CBS is free to do whatever it wants, presuming it follows the criminal code. If they don’t want to run MoveOn.org ads because they have a policy against controversial ads (and no matter what some say, be sure that this, like everything that comes out of them, will be controversial) or just because they don’t feel like it, then they have no obligation to.
Free speech is a great thing. But just because the government is obliged not to take that from you, that doesn’t mean private entities can’t.
Respond to this posting
Back to top