The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, adopted in 1791 along with other nine other bills comprising the Bill of Rights three years after the ratification of the Constitution, created a lot of clauses dealing with multiple purposes. 

There have been a number of legal challenges regarding the First Amendment recently, from Sarah Palin's lawsuit against the New York Times to suits accusing Project Veritas, Fox News, the Gateway Pundit, One America News and others of "intentionally promoting and profiting from false claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election," the New York Times reported. 

1. What is the First Amendment?

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly and the right to petition, according to Cornell Law School. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual's religious practices. The amendment further guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. Finally, the amendment guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and to petition their government.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances," the amendment states.

2. Limitations of the First Amendment

The First Amendment has some limitations. Notably, the amendment doesn't prevent a private employer from setting its own rules regarding freedom of expression, but does protect citizens against government limits on expression, according to Middle Tennessee State University.

According to USCourts.gov, the freedom of speech does not include the right:

• To incite imminent lawless action;
• To make or distribute obscene materials;
• To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest;
• To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration;
• Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event;
• Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event.

The First Amendment again only protects against the government, not private employers or consequences from other citizens. Limits to the freedoms in the First Amendment exist as people’s individual rights must be balanced against the rights of society, according to the Voice of America.

For example, a person cannot force the tenets of his or her religion on others while trying to practice that religion. Similarly, harmful speech, such as yelling “fire” in a crowded room, is not protected speech, nor is publishing a lie that causes harm to someone. Also, different types of speech have different amounts of freedom. Political speech is considered different than commercial speech, which includes advertisements.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, freedom of speech does not prevent punishing conduct that intimidates, harasses or threatens another person, even if words are used. Threatening phone calls are not constitutionally protected, for example.

3. What the First Amendment does

Middle Tennessee State University states that the First Amendment prevents against the government requiring you to say something you don't want to, or keeping you from hearing or reading the words of others, as you have the right to receive information, even if you never speak or write yourself.

USCourts,gov also states that the freedom of speech includes the right:

• Not to speak, specifically, the right not to salute the flag;
• Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war, as students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate, the Supreme Court has found;
• To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages;
• To contribute money, under specific circumstances, to political campaigns;
• To advertise commercial products and professional services with some restrictions;
• To engage in symbolic speech, including the burning of the flag in protest.

The First Amendment also makes it so that the government can not, through "prior restraint," block publication of any material unless it could prove that it would "surely" result in "direct, immediate and irreparable" harm to the nation, the Supreme Court found in U.S. v. New York Times. The public has a "right to know," the court found, which is essential to fully participate in democratic decision-making.

The government's claims of "national security" must always be scrutinized to make sure they are valid, according to the ACLU.

4. What about censorship? 

Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of words, images or ideas that are considered offensive, obscene, politically unacceptable or a threat to security. According to the First Amendment Encyclopedia, "censors seek to limit freedom of thought and expression by restricting spoken words, printed matter, symbolic messages, freedom of association, books, art, music, movies, television programs and internet sites." 

Censorship by the government, even though it appears to be becoming more common in states like Florida and Texas, is unconstitutional, according to the Carnegie Library. The First Amendment was extended to the states in the 1940s, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. When the government, either at the federal, state or local level, engages in censorship, it goes against the First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is often called upon to ensure that First Amendment rights are being protected and could be called upon again in the future.

However, private individuals and groups may still engage in censorship. As long as government entities are not involved, this type of censorship presents no First Amendment implications. That includes censoring popular music, movies, art and television to exclude words or images that may be considered "vulgar" or "obscene." Facebook, Twitter and other social media can regulate or restrict speech hosted on their platforms because they are private entities.

The Supreme Court has previously reaffirmed the right to receive information is a fundamental right protected under the U.S. Constitution when it stated in Board of Education v. Pico in 1982 that "the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of their own rights of speech, press and political freedom," according to the American Library Association.

5. The freedom to speech does not equate a freedom from consequences

While everyone is entitled to voicing their own opinions, ideas and views without interference from the government, according to North Texas Daily, what happens after statements are voiced is up to others. When people voice opinions of discrimination, be it racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., others can voice differing opinions and call out individuals for their negative comments. Individuals can also face backlash for their comments made on social media platforms that are derogatory, racist or otherwise discriminatory.

Individuals can be held accountable for their words and actions by entities like businesses or organizations, including their employer. Hateful speech and political views are not the same thing, per North Texas Daily, as hateful speech causes emotional and mental harm to someone while political beliefs do not. Calling someone out for saying hateful statements is also within a person's freedom of speech.

People who call out others for harmful, hateful statements are not trying to promote censorship, per North Texas Daily. Individuals are entitled not to tolerate hateful rhetoric and are able to say things against it. The First Amendment was created to encourage the flow of ideas and communication between people without government interference.

An individual who does not like being called out for their negative comments can stop voicing those comments on public platforms. Once a statement is on a public platform, others have the right to comment back and condemn those statements.