On campus and off, defending expressive rights is critical to ensuring an America where you feel safe to speak freely.
FIRE defends and sustains the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the essential qualities of liberty — and carries out this mission through several core services.
Facing censorship or retaliation for protected speech? FIRE lawyers are here to help you when your free speech rights are violated.
FIRE’s signature, core defense program provides free, non-legal assistance to individuals whose fundamental civil liberties are violated, with a special focus on college students, professors, student media, and campus groups.
FIRE’s College Policy Reform team works to proactively and systematically challenge campus policies that violate the free speech rights of students and faculty.
FIRE defends your individual rights at both the state and federal level by advocating on behalf of rights-protective legislation and against proposed laws that would abridge those rights.
Censoring public comments. Compelling speech. Suing people into silence. Sometimes it feels like no words are safe from suppression and coercion. FIRE’s First Amendment Freedom Operation proves that violating First Amendment rights has consequences. We take on cases of everyday people who run afoul of government officials just for speaking their minds. And we’re determined to emerge victorious, knowing a win for our clients is a win for all Americans.
Are you a college student or faculty member punished or investigated for something you posted on social media? Denied recognition of your student group? Is your student publication being threatened? Are you facing non-renewal or loss of tenure because of your views? FIRE’s Campus Rights Advocacy is here to help.
FIRE filed a lawsuit against the university to protect student press freedoms for Jared, The Indian Leader, and student journalists around the country.
The president of Haskell Indian Nations University issued an unconstitutional directive to student journalist Jared Nally, editor-in-chief of the award-winning student newspaper, The Indian Leader, that formally forbade Jared from engaging in protected journalistic activities. The president also directed Jared to start showing university administrators the “highest respect” — or else!
FIRE helps people whose expressive rights have been violated — and those violations take a lot of forms. If you think your rights have been violated, tell us about it. Our team will review your case to see how we can help. It’s totally confidential and there’s never a cost to you.
Without the help and leadership of FIRE, I am certain that I would have been forced out of my career of over 25 years.
After public outrage, Coastal Carolina University reinstates theater professor Steven Earnest, who criticized student protestors.
The Faculty Legal Defense Fund offers “first responder” assistance to protect the expressive and academic freedom rights of faculty at public colleges and universities. If you face censorship or retaliation for your instruction or scholarship, or for your speech on issues of public concern as a private citizen, then FLDF may be able to help.
Are you a student journalist? FIRE has your back. Our Student Press Freedom Initiative (SPFI) defends free press on campus by advocating for the rights of student journalists across the country.
Since 1999, FIRE has amassed more than 650 victories defending student and faculty rights on more than 300 campuses nationwide.
In 2023, FIRE actively litigated 23 cases.
In 2023, FIRE vetted nearly 2,400 case submissions involving individuals and groups who said their rights were threatened.
FIRE regularly reaches an audience of more than 800,000 email subscribers and social media followers.
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