In 1984, the ACLU held a "Free Trade in Ideas" conference that brought together leading free speech commentators to discuss barriers to the right of Americans to receive information from abroad.

Nearly a quarter century later, many would argue that the threat to a marketplace of ideas has never been greater. Americans increasingly are denied access to information vital to self-governance.

Does the "War on Terror" require these sacrifices? Or, are we compromising at home the freedoms we advocate abroad? This symposium will address the question of whether liberty and security are mutually exclusive and require limitations on core First Amendment rights, including free speech, the right to associate, and freedom of the press.

American University Washington College of Law, American University Law Review, and the ACLU sponsor this two-day symposium that will identify what barriers, if any, exist to promoting speech and government accountability, and will identify possible legislative solutions to remove them.

These discussions will reinvigorate the public debate on these important issues through panels featuring government officials, policy makers, nationally known experts, scholars, journalists, and other interested parties.

The symposium marks the beginning of a national conversation on ways to promote the First Amendment in post-9/11 America. The dialogue will continue in a symposium edition of the American University Law Review to be published in Spring 2008, along with post-symposium chats with panelists as legislation is introduced in Congress.