Much has been written about whether there is need to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan, the seminal free speech case from 1964 that constitutionalized libel law across the country and made it enormously difficult for public officials to sue for defamation. While the world is far different today – with everyone a potential Internet publisher and 24-hour news cycles – we do not believe there should be a headlong rush to re-examine this incredibly important decision, which has long since transformed speech in the United States.

That unanimous decision, by associate Justice William Brennan, held that under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, a public official could not be awarded damages for libel without proof that the challenged publication was made with “actual malice,” described as “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” In other words, even with mistakes, a publisher was insulated against liability absent proof of actual malice, creating breathing room for journalists who might otherwise not publish.