Amid national conversations about the First Amendment in light of ABC/Disney’s brief suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a September Marist poll measured public opinion on freedom of speech. The survey found many Americans are concerned about the extent to which free speech has been restricted.
Nearly one in five (19%) of those surveyed said “the U.S. has gone too far in expanding the right to freedom of speech,” while almost four in five (79%) said the country has “gone too far in restricting the right to freedom of speech.”
Over half of those who identify with each major political party are more alarmed by restrictions on free speech than by its expansion, but partisan gaps remain. Almost a third (31%) of Republicans believe the expansion of free speech has gone too far, compared to just 12% of Democrats. When asked if there have been too many restrictions, 88% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans agreed.
With the Kimmel incident sparked by Trump administration officials expressing concern over a late-night joke, the role of the federal government in policing free speech has been at the forefront of people’s minds. The survey asked respondents what role, if any, the federal government has in deciding what “speech is acceptable or too extreme.”
Almost six in 10 (59%) believe the federal government has at least some role in determining what speech is acceptable, while 41% said it should have no role at all. Among those who said the government has some role, 62% pointed to the Supreme Court, 26% to Congress and 11% to the president.
More information on the September Marist survey, including methodology and topline results, can be found here.
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