Harvard law professor John Coates argues that granting corporations free speech rights has resulted in a “form of corruption.” “… the use of litigation by managers to entrench reregulation in their personal interests at the expense of shareholders, consumers, and employees. In aggregate, they degrade the rule of law, rendering it less predictable, general and clear. This corruption risks significant economic harms in addition to the loss of a republican form of government,” he writes. (Social Science Research Network, February 27, 2015)
Coates said it was not just Citizens United that has led to this unwelcome outcome. He included in his research a number of corporate challenges to government regulations on First Amendment grounds. Legal scholar Burt Neuborne said the 1970s saw conservative embrace the First Amendment with the Supreme Court protecting unrestricted election spending by the rich and commercial advertising. It has now evolved to the extent that the courts are filled with free speech cases from pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, meat producers and airlines. He notes that funds are diverted from research and innovation to litigation. (The New York Times, March 23, 2015, by Adam Liptak)
Cass R. Sunstein cites what he considers an egregious instance of the use of the First Amendment in an attempt to block government regulation. The law suit by the National Asssociation of Manufacturers fights a Securities and Exchange Commission requirement that companies check to see if their products use conflict minerals and if so report the products to the public. (Bloomberg News, March 30, 2015, by Cass R. Sunstein)