In a split decision that overturns a 63-year-old law, yet features a long, pointed dissent, the U.S. Supreme Court has thrown out limits on campaign spending by corporations and unions—a move experts say will have a transformative effect on candidate elections in the United States. Whether corporate speech enjoys the same protections as normal speech is a question every democracy—including Canada—has wrestled with. Today, the U.S. high court found that Washington cannot regulate political speech regardless of whether it is paid for by an individual or an organization. The finding will allow corporations to spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress. The decision arose from a controversial documentary about Hillary Clinton that had been produced by a conservative non-profit corporation, and released during the Democratic primaries for the 2008 presidential election.

Washington Post

New York Times