If there is one area where Americans still agree, it’s that free speech matters. Amid recent political protests, ongoing concerns about speech suppression, and the latest campus controversies, the First Amendment is (still) immensely popular.

In our latest national survey, 81 percent of Americans claimed freedom of speech should be protected “at all costs.” This is about as close to unanimity as you get in modern polling.

But dig a little deeper, and that consensus starts to fracture fast. Most Americans say certain speech is harmful enough that limits on the First Amendment are necessary. Almost two-thirds agree that free speech doesn’t mean protection from consequences. In other words, Americans overwhelmingly believe in free speech, just not necessarily for people who say things they

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