To the Editor:

Re “Trust the First Amendment” (Op-Ed, Aug. 2):

David Cole, the impressive national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, needed to explain more about the group’s aggressive support of corporate free speech.

A case can be made against regulations prohibiting companies from providing critical price information to consumers. But it has been difficult to understand why the A.C.L.U. supported the notorious Citizens United case with an amicus brief. Citizens United allows unlimited political contributions by corporations for or against candidates for elective office.

More inexplicable was the group’s support for the carcinogenic tobacco industry’s advertisements as protected free speech.

For decades the A.C.L.U. has fought for corporate personhood. Corporations are not people, Mr. Cole.

Ralph Nader

Washington

The writer is the author of “Breaking Through Power: It’s Easier Than We Think.”