**The US Supreme Court has rejected long-standing limits on how much companies can spend on political campaigns.**The ruling is likely to change the way presidential and congressional campaigns are funded, including this year’s crucial mid-term elections.
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote overturns a 20-year-old ban on businesses using money from their own funds to pay for campaign ads.
Critics say it will flood political campaigns with money from companies.
However, analysts suggest that some businesses will recoil at the prospect of being asked for even more election campaign funding.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said the prohibition of direct contributions from companies and unions to political candidates was a form of censorship.
But Justice John Paul Stevens disagreed strongly, saying that the court’s ruling threatened “to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation”.
The Supreme Court also said that any campaign adverts that were not paid for by the candidate or their party must be clearly marked with the name of the sponsor.
The decision comes less than 10 months before the congressional mid-term elections.