What landmark US Supreme Court case granted corporations First Amendment free speech rights?

The landmark case was Citizens United v. FEC, which recognized corporations’ First Amendment protection for independent political speech and spending. Decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 21, 2010, the case concerned whether federal campaign-finance rules could restrict a corporation’s political film and advertising.

Citizens United, a nonprofit advocacy group, wanted to distribute Hillary: The Movie, a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton, during the 2008 presidential campaign. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 restricted certain election-related broadcasts funded by corporations and unions. In a 5–4 ruling, the Court held that the ban on independent expenditures violated the First Amendment.

The decision overturned Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce and part of McConnell v. FEC. It did not authorize corporations to contribute unlimited money directly to candidates or political parties; the ruling concerned independent expenditures, which are made without coordination with a campaign. Disclosure requirements were also largely left intact.

Citizens United is often confused with Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, an earlier corporate-rights case involving constitutional protection, or with Buckley v. Valeo, which addressed campaign spending more broadly. Its distinctive legacy is corporate and union political spending.