Advertising Rights
When I went to Ad Age’s homepage today and a headline caught my eye, "Pediatricians Demand Cuts in Children-Targeted Advertising." Regardless of whether you are in advertising or not, this story should concern you b/c it has to do with First Amendment Rights. Certain groups are asking that junk-food ads be banned during shows viewed mostly by children under age 8. They also requested that alcohol ads be limited to product pictures and text and erectile-
dysfunction ads be limited to after 10 p.m. A request for a complete ban on tobacco ads also was under discussion. This is dangerous and imposes severe wide-reaching limits and is a threat to advertising everywhere. Advertising is certainly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Even though advertising or "Commercial speech" has less First Amendment protection from governmental infringement than other types of speech. The 
Federal Trade Commission, for example, can regulate speech that is found to be deceptive. Any individual can make a complaint against an ad. However it has to go through the proper channels. The FCC or the FTC has the authority to determine whether an advertisement is appropriate or not. Yet they use a 4 part test for assessing government restrictions on commercial speech. This was set forth in a landmark case, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission Of New York. This has become the standard for all commercial speech cases. Anyway, these requests are too broad. 
If this is aloud to happen, the pendulum for First Amendment protection will swing back to 1942. At this point in time, commercial advertisements were considered to be outside the First Amendment's protection. We have come a long way with the First Amendment. We do not want to go back now. This is just another way to open the door to more censorship, and infringement of the First Amendment, and we can not let that happen.
dysfunction ads be limited to after 10 p.m. A request for a complete ban on tobacco ads also was under discussion. This is dangerous and imposes severe wide-reaching limits and is a threat to advertising everywhere. Advertising is certainly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Even though advertising or "Commercial speech" has less First Amendment protection from governmental infringement than other types of speech. The 
Federal Trade Commission, for example, can regulate speech that is found to be deceptive. Any individual can make a complaint against an ad. However it has to go through the proper channels. The FCC or the FTC has the authority to determine whether an advertisement is appropriate or not. Yet they use a 4 part test for assessing government restrictions on commercial speech. This was set forth in a landmark case, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission Of New York. This has become the standard for all commercial speech cases. Anyway, these requests are too broad. 
If this is aloud to happen, the pendulum for First Amendment protection will swing back to 1942. At this point in time, commercial advertisements were considered to be outside the First Amendment's protection. We have come a long way with the First Amendment. We do not want to go back now. This is just another way to open the door to more censorship, and infringement of the First Amendment, and we can not let that happen. 
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