An Argument for Codifying the First Amendment into Law

“But, They’re a Private Company”

One of the first arguments, from both the left and right, over Big Tech censorship is the statement, “But, they’re a private company.” Projected from the left, such a statement frequently defends “privatized” censorship; the right views such statements as illegitimate excuses to suppress debate.

A Precedent for Codifying Constitutional Protections

§ I propose that provisions of the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech be codified into law and applied to publicly-held corporations. Undoubtedly, an objection to codifying the First Amendment into law will likely be, “We can’t do that. Private companies legally cannot be required to enforce provisions of the Constitution. That applies only to government,” or something like it.

Uh, excuse me. The intent of both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments have been codified into Civil Rights law, which every human resource department (ostensibly) is required to observe. U. S. Code clearly, and legally, prohibits discrimination by private companies grounded in race, color, creed, or national origin. Codified anti-discrimination law has also been extended to prevent age-related discrimination, as well as discrimination grounded in sexual orientation and sexual self-identity.

The precedent is clearly laid down. Constitutional provisions can be, and have been, codified into law.

Corporate Entities

Broadly speaking, corporate law recognizes two organizing principles. One is the “closely-held” corporation. The second is the “publicly-held” corporation. Fundamentally funding strategies, these two organizing principles also dictate who can contribute to the corporation’s financial strategy. Simplistically, closely-held corporations control participants, while publicly-held corporations allow their common stock to be traded in the open market. Again simplistically, the public contribute to, and share in, the financial welfare of publicly-held corporations.

A Proposal

§ If one follows the syllogism set here, its conclusion should be rather clear. Since publicly-held corporations are, by definition, traded publicly, that is, since the public (“the people” in constitutional terms) have a vested interest in publicly-held corporations, those corporations should be subject to codified freedom of speech provisions, just as companies are required to observe other laws that prevent discrimination.