In the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission from 2010, the U.S Supreme Court concluded that restrictions on independent expenditures by corporations and unions violated the First Amendment's protection of free speech. The Court's decision overturned provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, such as the ban on corporations and unions using their general treasury funds for independent expenditures. This ruling allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money in support of or opposition to political candidates through independent expenditures. It also paved the way for the establishment of Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money but operate independently from political candidates.
