| The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as | | | | law?Several critical court cases have been |
| interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, provides | | | | landmarks in establishing the rights of the press to |
| the strongest guarantee of free speech in the | | | | pursue information and to publish government |
| world. Unlike people in many other countries, | | | | documents or derogatory information about public |
| Americans are free to criticize each other and | | | | figures. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the |
| government officials in language both fair and foul, | | | | media should have some First Amendment |
| to engage in racist or other hateful speech, and | | | | protection from the laws of libel for fear that |
| to use expletives and other bad language in public. | | | | lawsuits and possible monetary damages might |
| In some states, like California, they may even | | | | disincline media owners from fully reporting on |
| exercise their right to free speech on other | | | | public matters. In order for a public figure to win a |
| people's private property. Americans are very | | | | defamation case against a media defendant, the |
| proud (some foreigners would say inordinately) of | | | | plaintiff must show "actual malice," which the |
| their right to free speech; most of them feel that | | | | courts have defined as knowledge that the |
| it encourages a strong free press which regularly | | | | published statement was false or as "reckless |
| cleanses corruption out of American government | | | | disregard of whether it was false or not".In our |
| (e.g., Watergate) and thus ensures its unique | | | | time, American free speech law has become an |
| stability.By the early years of the republic when | | | | issue of international appeal since the Internet |
| the U.S. system of checks and balances was | | | | rose as another main medium of communication. |
| devised, a daring journalistic community had | | | | Probably, this is because many banned groups can |
| already become established. A bold and scrappy | | | | take advantage of Internet service providers |
| press was an influential force in denouncing the | | | | based in the United States to send their |
| rule of an English King and leading Colonial America | | | | messages around the world, even where such |
| into its revolution against the British Empire. With | | | | speech is banned. U.S. courts will not enforce |
| journalistic freedom protected in the 1791 Bill of | | | | foreign judgments contrary to domestic public |
| Rights, the press became an assertive force | | | | policy, including the liberal U.S. policy on free |
| during the first decades of nationhood. The U.S. | | | | speech. As for the U.S. perspective, many |
| media today is frequently known as the Fourth | | | | Americans dislike attempts by common law |
| Estate, an appellation that suggests the press | | | | jurisdictions to extend their personal jurisdiction to |
| shares equal stature with the three branches of | | | | American defendants whose alleged defamatory |
| government created by the Constitution. But | | | | speech acts occurred over the Internet and were |
| although the press was not established as an | | | | not targeted towards those jurisdictions. If the |
| institution by the U.S. constitution, today many | | | | First Amendment cannot protect them, what else |
| citizens believe that it constitutes a branch of U.S. | | | | can? Is diplomacy a solution? The fact remains |
| government. Numerous debates still rise regarding | | | | that political and social scientists seem to have set |
| press's freedom to act as a watchdog of the | | | | off in unknown waters. |
| American government. Is it protected by | | | | |