In the case of Newsweek, Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue et al., 1997, Newsweek challenged a Florida law that imposed sales tax on magazines sold in the state but exempted newspapers from this tax. The magazine publisher argued that this exemption violated their First Amendment rights by favoring one form of media over another and thus constituted an unfair business practice. However, the U.S Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision to dismiss Newsweek's claim without prejudice because it failed to demonstrate any actual harm or threat thereof due to differential taxation under Florida law. The Court ruled that there was no evidence showing how such a tax policy could influence what readers choose to read or publishers decide to publish; hence it did not infringe upon freedom of speech or press as claimed by Newsweek.

In the dissenting opinion for Newsweek, Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue et al., it was argued that the majority's decision to exempt certain magazines from sales tax while others were not, violated the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause. The dissenting justices believed that this selective taxation constituted a form of content-based discrimination against press entities which is prohibited by these constitutional provisions. They contended that such differential treatment could potentially influence or manipulate public discourse and information dissemination processes in favor of those publications granted preferential tax status, thereby undermining free speech principles enshrined in the Constitution. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "periodicals" under Florida law as being overly narrow and inconsistent with legislative intent.