多種多様な話題に触れながら、法が保護すべき言論と、処罰すべき言論をどのように区別するかについて解説する、言論の自由についての入門書です。ヘイトスピーチや偽情報のように物議を醸す言論を保護すべきか、といった重要な議論を理解し、そこに参加する上で不可欠となる土台を読者に提供します。
現在の米国憲法修正第一条に重点を置き、多くの問題と判例を紹介しながら、強力な言論保護の原則が米国の人種的正義やその他の人権擁護運動を支えてきた点に注目し、より言論を保護する方向に進展してきた歴史的要因、特に公民権運動の影響について説明しています。また、それらの判例がいかに普遍的で時代を超越した価値を反映し、他の多くの法体系にも取り入れられ、数え切れないほどの思想家や活動家を勇気づけてきたかにも触れています。
論理的な順序で問題を取り上げ、注目に値する事実と、最高裁判決からの雄弁な言葉を紹介する本書は、言論の自由に関する複雑な法律を単純化しすぎることなく、読者にとって飲み込みやすく、興味深く、記憶に残るような要約を提供しています。言論の自由に関する法律について事前知識を持たない読者から、既にある程度の知識があり、主要な学説の要約や、その背景、根拠、相互関係についての洞察を求めている読者まで、幅広い層に示唆を与えるものになっています。
    

• Provides an original, comprehensive framework for integrating the Supreme Court's many disparate--even inconsistent--free speech rulings into a coherent overall scheme
• Lays out and responds to the twelve most important and difficult arguments that are commonly raised by members of the public, press, and politicians to challenge speech-protective principles of modern First Amendment law
• Highlights an essential, yet under appreciated integral interconnection between the robust protection of free speech and the robust protection of racial justice and other human rights

  
An engaging guide to the most important free speech rules, rationales, and debates, including the strongest arguments for and against protecting the most controversial speech, such as hate speech and disinformation.
  
This concise but comprehensive book engagingly lays out specific answers to myriad topical questions about free speech law, and also general explanations of how and why the law distinguishes between protected and punishable speech. Free Speech provides the essential background for understanding and contributing to our burgeoning debates about whether to protect speech with various kinds of controversial content, such as hate speech and disinformation: the applicable legal tenets and the strongest arguments for and against them.
  
The book focuses on modern First Amendment law, explaining the historic factors that propelled its evolution in a more speech-protective direction - in particular, the Civil Rights Movement. It highlights the many cases, involving multiple issues, in which robust speech-protective principles aided advocates of racial justice and other human rights causes. The book also shows how these holdings reflect universal, timeless values, which have been incorporated in many other legal systems, and have inspired countless thinkers and activists alike.
  
Without oversimplifying the complexities of free speech law, the book's lively question-and-answer format summarizes this law in an understandable, interesting, and memorable fashion. It addresses the issues in a logical sequence, presenting colorful facts and eloquent language from landmark Supreme Court opinions. It will be illuminating to a wide range of readers, from those who know nothing about free speech law, to those who have studied it but seek a well-organized summary of major doctrinal rules, as well as insights into their background, rationales, and interconnections.