The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that a portion of a hotly-debated Dodd-Frank rule promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission violates the First Amendment. The commission’s “conflict minerals” rule implemented Dodd-Frank provisions that require certain firms to describe whether their products are “conflict free” in relation to the ongoing armed struggle in the region of the Congo. However, the court said the statute interferes with the exercise of the freedom of speech.