Letter to the editor: First Amendment has limits

OPINION:

Libertarians sometimes have trouble balancing principle with pragmatic reality. For instance, they forget that our Constitution is not a suicide pact. This may be why retired Judge Andrew Napolitano says banning TikTok would be unconstitutional. It would violate the First Amendment’s prohibition against government abridging the freedom of speech (“Can Congress ban TikTok?” web, March 20). 

This prohibition has exceptions. These include libel, slander, and inciting riot and insurrection, because such speech can lead to serious harm. TikTok’s critics, who accuse it of widespread damage, insist on banning it for that reason. Likewise, if TikTok cannot be kept out of enemy hands, here also the First Amendment should not apply.

The foregoing presupposes that the First Amendment, along with the entire Constitution, still matters. That’s a somewhat larger question.

JOHN S. MASON JR.

Irvington, Virginia