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A chilling effect is a situation where speech or conduct is suppressed or limited by fear of penalization at the hands of an individual or group. For example, the threat of a costly and lengthy lawsuit might prompt self-censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chilling effect. ... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ...

Explanation

In United States law, chilling effects refer to the stifling effect that vague or overbroad laws may have on legitimate speech and activity typically protected by the First Amendment. Recognition of chilling effects caused substantial change to slander and libel law to eliminate the possibility of political libel cases and remove openings for vexatious litigation. Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ... The Bill of Rights in the National Archives The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. ... “Libel” redirects here. ... The 16th and 17th century criminal statutes protecting nobility from criticism in England eventually evolved into various categories of political libel (see slander and libel for the modern incarnation of this law). ... Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary. ...

Origin of term

The term had been in use in the United States for several years by 1965, when William J. Brennan used it in a judicial decision referring to the "chilling effect [a particular law might have] upon the exercise of First Amendment rights"^[1]; the case in question was Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301, 85 S.Ct. 1493 (1965). That case invalidated a Federal law that required postal patrons receiving "communist political propaganda" to specifically authorize the delivery of each such piece of mail.^[2] The phrase was also used as early as 1950, as if it were commonly understood, in a law review article by Harvard Law Professor, Paul A. Freund, in The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties, 4 Vanderbilt Law Review 533, at 539 (1950-1951). 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... // The United States Reports, the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Swedish Anti-Euro propaganda for the referendum of 2003. ...

The Lamont case did not center around a law that explicitly outlawed speech; a "chilling effect" can exist even when there is no explicit prohibition of speech in the law at all. In the original decision, the criterion was that the law have a "deterrent effect" on freedom of expression. In general, "chilling effect" is often used in reference to laws or actions that do not explicitly prohibit legitimate speech, but that impose undue burdens.

See also

• Censorship
• Chilling Effects
• Libel
• Prior restraint
• Strategic lawsuit against public participation ("SLAPP")
• Media transparency

Censorship is the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ... Chilling Effects is a collaboration between several law school clinics and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to protect lawful online activity from legal threats. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Prior restraint is a legal term referring to a governments actions that prevent materials from being published. ... A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is a form of litigation filed by a large corporation or in some cases an individual plaintiff, to intimidate and silence a less powerful critic by so severely burdening them with the cost of a legal defense that they abandon their criticism. ... Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means. ...

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

External links

• Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, containing many current examples of alleged chilling effects
• Terms associated with libel cases
• Cato Policy Analysis No. 270 Chilling The Internet? Lessons from FCC Regulation of Radio Broadcasting