[IMC-Editorial] Letter on US Supreme Court Nike Decision

[The Ayn Rand Institute]

Dear Editor:

In refusing to rule on the Nike case last week, the Supreme Court
struck a heavy blow against freedom of speech.

The case involved Nike's attempts, in letters to editors and to
university administrators, to counter charges that their overseas
workers are abused. A critic, claiming that Nike's claims were false
advertising, filed suit.

But Nike's letters deserve first-amendment protection. They were *not*
advertisements--they addressed only the question of working conditions
in its factories, saying nothing about its products. If such letters
can be ruled a form of advertising, then anything said by any
corporation about any aspect of its operations may expose it to
crippling false-advertising lawsuits. Meanwhile the critics of
corporations, whose speech is protected, can invent outright lies with
no penalty.

By refusing to rule on this blatant violation of free speech, the
Court officially declared open season on business.

Sincerely,

Robert Garmong
Ayn Rand Institute
2121 Alton Parkway, #250
Irvine, CA  92606
United States
949-222-6550

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