<P> Until the 1976 Supreme Court case Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council , commercial speech in the United States was viewed as an `` unprotected '' category of speech beyond the pale of First Amendment protection . Indeed , the idea of commercial speech was first introduced by the Supreme Court when it upheld Valentine v. Chrestensen in 1942 , which ruled that commercial speech in public is not constitutionally protected . In upholding the regulation , the Supreme Court said , `` We are ... clear that the Constitution imposes ... no restraint on government as respects purely commercial advertising '' . This ruling , however , would be overturned with Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council ( 1976 ) and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission ( 1980 ) . </P>
which supreme court case forms the basis for commercial speech protection today
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council ( 1976 ) Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission ( 1980 )