Prior restraints — or government orders not to publish information — have long been considered a quintessential First Amendment violation. The Supreme Court has never upheld one against the press, even when the government claimed grave national security threats. The potential for abuse of censorship powers is simply too vast for the First Amendment to tolerate.
Prior restraints have historically been rare in lower courts as well. Even judges with little First Amendment expertise know better than to cross that line. When they do, appellate courts have expedited journalists’ emergency appeals to restore order.
But that seems to be changing.
