3 ms·

I'm pretty sure free speech doesn't exempt one from getting sued for damages: otherwise all the copywriters will have a field day with misleading commercials.

• dragonwriter 8y ago
  > I'm pretty sure free speech doesn't exempt one from getting sued for damages It does; if speech is constitutionally protected, it cannot violate the law, and if an action does not violate a legal obligation, it is not a basis for damages. This is why (for instance) it is much harder to bring a libel/slander case for damages in the US compared to Britain; US libel/slander laws (even in jurisdictions where no statutory provisions exists so the common law would otherwise control) are limited to avoid punishing protected speech. > otherwise all the copywriters will have a field day with misleading commercials. Commercial speech has for a long time been found to be less likely to be constitutionally protected than many other forms of speech.