first amendment

It's a good day to be a drugmaker after two pro-business Supreme Court rulings favored the industry. And it's an even better day for those who are counting on the EU bailing out Greece. But the folks at Google may want to search for "defense lawyers" -- they may be seeing subpoenas shortly.

Can a market research firm sell a doctor's prescribing history to a pharmaceutical company without his or her permission? The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear this First Amendment case, which could change drug marketing and have a major impact on data-gathering practices.

The social media world exploded when Amazon began selling an eBook called, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure." But in the aftermath of the controversy, the only clear winner was the book's author.

You know better than to believe everything companies say in ads, but when it comes to claims about the healthfulness of foods and other products, the untruths can reach outrageous levels. The question is: What can a government limited by the First Amendment do to stop them?

Pharmaceutical firm Allergan has settled criminal and civil charges that it promoted Botox for uses the FDA hadn't approved, agreeing to pay $600 million and enter into a "corporate integrity agreement." Allergan also dropped its related First Amendment lawsuit against the FDA.

In a case that tested the bounds of the First Amendment, Hal Turner, a right-wing radio shock jock, was convicted of threatening three judges' lives in his blog post. Plus, Eli Lilly loses a patent case for ADHD drug Strattera.

Did the Anti-Defamation League, which opposes the construction of a mosque near the old World Trade Center site, take advantage of Twitter's terms of service to silence legitimate political speech?

In the wake of Supreme Court ruling that restricted the use of the "honest services" statute as a basis for fraud convictions, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling has joined the queue of high-profile corporate convicts asking for bail pending their fraud appeals.

In a major victory for TV networks, an appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commission's indecency policy on Tuesday, calling it "unconstitutionally vague." The court also said the rules posed a risk to freedom of speech.

McDonald's may be forced to defend itself on a new battlefront in the war against obesity. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says it'll sue unless McDonald's stops using toys to promote Happy Meals.