Citizens United v. FEC

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that certain campaign finance restrictions are inconsistent with the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The Court, in a 5-4 decision with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the majority opinion, struck down Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which had prohibited corporations, labor unions and other organizations from paying for "electioneering communications," holding that the prohibition of independent expenditures by corporations and unions violated the First Amendment. The ruling sparked significant controversy, with supporters defending it as a safeguard of free speech and critics arguing it lets large corporations wield disproportionate political power by spending unlimited amounts to support chosen candidates.