Hate speech and free speech are widely misunderstood concepts in the United States. Some people claim that the First Amendment has a “hate speech” exception (it doesn’t), while others seem to think that free speech protections constrain private companies (they don’t). As Apple, Facebook, and YouTube have all recently banned Alex Jones and content produced by his website, InfoWars, for violating their rules on “hate speech,” now seems a good time to set the record straight.

Legally, there is not a “hate speech” exception to the First Amendment’s protection of speech. As the Supreme Court affirmed in 2017 in Matal v. Tam, the government has no business determining what society can and cannot hear because it is hateful. As Justice Anthony Kennedy explained, “A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all. The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the government’s benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the sustainable safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society.”