Commercial speech - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Commercial speech refers to any speech which promotes at least some type of�commerce. As established in Central Hudson v. Public Svn. Comm�n, commercial speech is less protected under the�First Amendment�than other forms of speech.

Central Hudson established a four-part test for whether governmental regulation of commercial speech is constitutional.

• First, in order for the commercial speech to be considered protected speech under the First Amendment, the speech must concern lawful activity and the speech must not be misleading.
  • If this step is met and the commercial speech is considered speech, then the court will use steps 2-4 below to determine whether the government regulation is constitutional
• Second, the alleged governmental interest in regulating the speech must be substantial
• Third, the regulation must directly advance the governmental interest asserted
• Fourth, the regulation must not be more extensive than is necessary to serve the interested expressed in step 3

For example, Linmark Associates v. Township of Willingboro established that a township could not prevent residents from placing �For Sale� / �Sold� signs on their lawns because preventing the flow of truthful information was more extensive than necessary to serve the township�s interest of preventing further neighborhood members from leaving.�

In addition to being restricted, commercial speech can also be compelled. In�Zauderer v. Office of Disc. Counsel, the Supreme Court held that a state may situationally compel commercial speech without violating the advertiser's First Amendment rights. Specifically, a state may require an advertiser to disclose certain information "as long as disclosure requirements are reasonably related to the State's interest in preventing deception of consumers."