in countries without freedom of the press, the majority of people who report the news may not follow the above-described standards of journalism. non-free media are often prohibited from criticizing the national government, and in many cases are required to distribute propaganda as if it were news. various other forms of censorship may restrict reporting on issues the government deems sensitive. in the united states, freedom of the press is protected under the first amendment in the bill of rights. under the first amendment, the government is not allowed to censor the press. the government does not have the right to try to control what is published and cannot prevent certain things from being published by the press. prior constraint is an attempt by the government to prevent the expression of ideas before they are published. some countries that have freedom of the press are the u.s., canada, western europe and scandinavia, australia, new zealand, japan, taiwan and a handful of countries in south america.