What are the 7 limitations of freedom of speech?

Asked by: Dr. Brown Hane Sr.  |  Last update: November 3, 2025
Score: 4.1/5 (21 votes)

The main such categories are incitement, defamation, fraud, obscenity, child pornography, fighting words, and threats.

What are the limitations of freedom of speech?

Freedom of speech does not include the right:

To incite imminent lawless action. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969). To make or distribute obscene materials.

What limitations are 7 placed on freedom of speech and press?

Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child pornography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law, true threats, false ...

What is exempt from free speech?

The right to freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Most categories of speech are “protected” to some extent by the First Amendment, but there are exceptions, including things like incitement, true threats, defamation, obscenity, fraud, and others.

What are the seven ways free speech may be limited?

Which types of speech are not protected by the First Amendment?
  • Incitement to Imminent Lawless Action. The First Amendment does not protect speech that incites people to break the law, including to commit acts of violence. ...
  • Fighting Words. ...
  • True Threats. ...
  • Obscenity. ...
  • Defamation. ...
  • Harassment. ...
  • Material and Substantial Disruption.

The Limitations of Free Speech

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What free speech is not protected?

The following speech may not be protected: Speech that is intended and likely to provoke imminent unlawful action (“incitement”). Statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals (“true threats”).

Is hate speech a crime in the United States?

Under current First Amendment jurisprudence, hate speech can only be criminalized when it directly incites imminent criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeted against a person or group.

What violates the right to free speech?

The First Amendment protects your right to express your opinion, even if it's unpopular. You may criticize the President, Congress, or the chief of police without fear of retaliation. But this right doesn't extend to libel, slander, obscenity, "true threats," or speech that incites imminent violence or law- breaking.

What part of speech is exempt?

exempt (adjective) exempt (verb) tax–exempt (adjective)

Is profanity protected by the First Amendment?

The Court has held that unless “fighting words” are involved, profane language has First Amendment protection. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942). The concern with First Amendment protection for the use of profanity is particularly pronounced for political speech.

Does freedom of speech mean I can say whatever I want?

Although most people are aware that free speech is guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution, many people do not understand that it does not mean unfettered free speech. This results in people saying, printing, filming and posting things that are inappropriate, unacceptable and incorrect.

Does banning books violate the First Amendment?

Where an author's book is banned from a school library, the reader's right to freedom of speech is censored with it, interfering with the ability of school libraries to serve as the “marketplace of ideas” in education.

How far does free speech go?

Criticizing government leaders, protesting, or filing a lawsuit to push for changes are all protected under the freedoms to assemble and petition. However, not all speech is protected. "True threats" and "fighting words" are not protected by the Constitution.

What limitations are there on the freedom of speech and freedom of press?

Common limitations to freedom of speech relate to slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling, non-disclosure agreements, the right to privacy, the right to be forgotten, public security, and perjury.

Is free speech really free?

Free speech means the government may not jail, fine, or impose civil liability on people or organizations based on what they say or write, with very few exceptions. The Constitution expresses the protection of speech from government interference in clear terms, “Congress shall make no law. . .

What are some limitations of a speech?

As a general rule, limitations on free speech preclude speech that is harmful to others, threatening, or generally repulsive and reviled.
  • Obscenity is Not Protected by the First Amendment. ...
  • Lying, in Many Circumstances, is Not Protected Speech. ...
  • Fighting Words, Threats, and Inciting Violence Will Not Be Protected.

What form of speech is not protected?

Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct

(1949), the Supreme Court held the First Amendment affords no protection to “speech or writing used as an integral part of conduct in violation of a valid criminal statute.” A robber's demand at gunpoint that you hand over your money is not protected speech.

What are the three forms of exempt?

exempt
  • he / she / it exempts.
  • past simple exempted.
  • -ing form exempting.

What part of speech is mandated?

adjective. authorized or decreed, as by the passing of a law: Federal agencies are making preparations to manage the mandated spending cuts.

What free speech is illegal?

- Challenging another to fight in a public place. - Use of offensive words in a public place which are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction (e.g., "fighting words"). - Speech that incites imminent illegal activity.

What is the 4th Amendment?

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things ...

What things are illegal to say?

Only that expression that is shown to belong to a few narrow categories of speech is not protected by the First Amendment. The categories of unprotected speech include obscenity, child pornography, defamatory speech, false advertising, true threats, and fighting words.

What hate speech is not protected?

Thus, although hate speech, alone, receives constitutional protection, any expression that constitutes a true threat, incitement to imminent lawless action, discriminatory harassment or defamation can be punished by UWM for those reasons.

Is racism illegal in the US?

It's a tricky question because there are aspects of law that prohibit racism, but no overarching legislation to make it illegal. For example, the 1964 Act signed into law by Johnson prohibits discrimination in public places and made employment discrimination illegal.

What does the 1 Amendment mean?

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual's religious practices.