Agency for Int'l Dev. v. All. for Open Soc'y Int'l, Inc. - 140 S. Ct. 2082 (2020)

Rule:

Because foreign organizations operating abroad do not possess constitutional rights, those foreign organizations do not have a First Amendment right to disregard a policy requirement disregard a policy requirement contained in the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 that conditions funding to foreign organizations that have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.

Facts:

In the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, Congress limited the funding of American and foreign nongovernmental organizations to those with “a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.” 22 U. S. C. §7631(f). In 2013, that Policy Requirement, as it is known, was held to be an unconstitutional restraint on free speech when applied to American organizations. Plaintiff American Organizations were now challenging the requirement's constitutionality when applied to their legally distinct foreign affiliates. The District Court held that the Government was prohibited from enforcing the requirement against the foreign affiliates, and the Second Circuit affirmed. Certiorari was granted. 

Issue:

Was the Government prohibited from enforcing the requirement against plaintiffs’ foreign affiliates? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The U.S. Supreme Court held that plaintiffs’ foreign affiliates were foreign organizations, and that foreign organizations operating abroad had no First Amendment rights. Because foreign organizations operating abroad did not possess constitutional rights, those foreign organizations did not have a First Amendment right to disregard a policy requirement contained in the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, that conditioned funding to foreign organizations that have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. The decision of the lower courts was reversed.