Legal Definitions - Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a Supreme Court case from 2010 that ruled that the First Amendment's free speech clause prohibits the government from limiting independent expenditures on political campaigns by groups such as corporations or labor unions. This means that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns as long as they do not coordinate with candidates or political parties.

For example, in 2012, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, Restore Our Future, spent over $142 million on ads and other campaign activities. This was made possible by the Citizens United ruling.

The case was controversial because some people believe that allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns gives them too much influence over the political process. Others argue that limiting their spending would violate their First Amendment rights to free speech.