Top 10 Civil Liberties News Stories - August 30, 2006 Edition

Brooklyn satellite TV dealer Javed Iqbal has been arrested for providing his customers access to the al-Manar news station, which has been linked to Hezbollah. The arrest pits the International Emergency Economic Powers Act against the First Amendment's guarantee of press freedom, which has understandably attracted the attention of the ACLU.

Under existing free speech precedent, the government can restrict press freedom only if the restriction is narrowly tailored, enforced through the least restrictive means possible, and serves a compelling interest. In order to convict Iqbal, the government will need to prove, in effect, that al-Manar is such a threat that this conditional restriction of press freedom is justified.