Regulators Can't Coerce Businesses

The Supreme Court held that a regulator who conveys a credible threat of adverse enforcement to induce banks and insurers to stop serving a speaker may have violated the First Amendment. That limits a common practice where regulators publicly pressure private firms to cut ties with controversial groups instead of pursuing direct government litigation or bans. — This reshapes how state agencies, corporations, and platforms interact over contested speech — curbing 'deplatforming by proxy' and forcing clearer legal boundaries on regulatory persuasion.