September 25, 2009 10:59PM 

# Under Current Law, Can the Government Ban Books? 

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The [*Citizens United*](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGlzEavpTM&feature=channel_page) case currently before the Supreme Court may radically reshape campaign finance law for years to come. Former FEC commissioner Bradley A. Smith spoke at a [forum](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=6362) on the case a day before the rehearing before the high court.

According to Smith, who is also the founder of the [Center for Competitive Politics](http://www.campaignfreedom.org/), under current law, the government does have the power to ban certain books if those books are published by a corporation, as [ruled by the Supreme Court](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_v._Michigan_Chamber_of_Commerce) in 1990.

Watch:

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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