The First Amendment: Where It Is Implicated, And Where It Is Not

Executive Summary: In the wake of the January 6, 2021, unrest at the United States Capitol Building and several social media outlets suspending President Trump's accounts, free speech is a hot topic. Although the right to free speech is ingrained into American life, free speech is not absolute. The Constitutional right to free speech is not implicated by the actions of these private social media platforms because they are private entities, not arms of the government. Moreover, the First Amendment does not protect certain speech intended to incite or produce violence and lawless action.

To be sure, free speech is an immutable right protected by the First Amendment, which provides that "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech...." But the right to free speech ends where it begins: with the plain language of the Constitution which guarantees it. The First Amendment only prohibits Congress – the legislative branch of the United States government –