Noah Feldman, Columnist

First Amendment Has the Teeth to Help Consumers

Ohio dentist's case shows how free-speech law is expanding.

August 11, 2016 at 4:23 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Open wide.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

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The First Amendment was called in to do the dirty work last week on an Ohio rule that bans dentists from advertising their specialties while continuing to practice general dentistry. The rule should have been challenged by the Federal Trade Commission as an anti-competitive restraint on trade. Because it never was, the appeals court had to apply free-speech law.

The decision is an example of how First Amendment values have expanded beyond self-expression to consumer protection. Whether that expansion was a good idea or not, it’s here to stay.