Freedom of commercial expression

Author / Creator

Shiner, Roger A

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Summary

"In this book, Roger Shiner examines critically the history of, and reasoning behind, the extension of the principles of freedom of expression to commercial expression. He examines the institutiona...

"In this book, Roger Shiner examines critically the history of, and reasoning behind, the extension of the principles of freedom of expression to commercial expression. He examines the institutional history of freedom of commercial expression as a constitutional doctrine, and argues that history is one of ad hoc, rather than logical, development. In examining the arguments used in support of freedom of commercial expression, he shows that even from within the borders of liberal democratic theory, constitutional protection for commercial expression is not philosophically justified. Commercial corporations cannot possess an original autonomy right to free expression. Moreover, the claim that there is a hearers' right to receive commercial expression which advertisers may borrow is invalid. Freedom of commercial expression does not fit the best available models for hearers' rights. Regulation of commercial expression is not paternalistic. The free flow of commercial information is not automatically a good, and, in any case, commercial expression rarely in fact involves information."--BOOK JACKET.

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