ABSTRACT
Prior restraint is the government’s direct interference with freedom of speech and the press. This explains in part why it is presumed to be unconstitutional under First Amendment law. Throughout the years, American courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have consistently refused to accept prior restraint as the preferred way of balancing freedom of expression with other societal and individual interests. A number of landmark cases, such as Near v. Minnesota (1931), are discussed in this chapter. In addition, critical attention is paid to how and in what context prior restraint has been adjudicated by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal and state courts. Private censorship through prior restraint, not as “state action,” is noted, as dramatically illustrated by Twitter’s suspension of former president Donald Trump’s @realDonaldTrump.
