First Amendment and Censorship

The First Amendment:

Protects your right to the Freedom of Expression and Speech
- We all have the legal right to read, view, listen to, write, create, and disseminate information even if someone else may object.

Does NOT protect that freedom for SOME information, including:
- Obscenity
- Child Pornography
- Defamation
- Incitements for Unlawful Action
- Classified Information Essential to National Security

Censorship:

Suppression of information considered offensive or objectionable

Censorship is Imposed on the Public by Those in Authority:

● Governments ●
● Organizations ●
● Companies ●
● Individuals with Authority ●

"Censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like libraries, to suppress and remove from public access information they judge inappropriate or dangerous, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone."

~American Library Association

Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A
(American Library Association) This webpage provides explanations and definitions for commonly used concepts surrounding intellectual freedom and censorship.