Cite as: 538 U. S. 600 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
would 'promote goodwill' on behalf of VietNow." Id., at 361, 763 N. E. 2d, at 298. Taking these factors into account, the court concluded that it would be "incorrect to presume . . . [any] nexus between high solicitation costs and fraud." Id., at 360, 763 N. E. 2d, at 298.
The Illinois Supreme Court further determined that, under Riley, "fraud cannot be defined in such a way that it places on solicitors the affirmative duty to disclose to potential donors, at the point of solicitation, the net proceeds to be returned to the charity." Id., at 361, 763 N. E. 2d, at 298.6 Finally, the court expressed the fear that if the complaint were allowed to proceed, all fundraisers in Illinois would be saddled with "the burden of defending the reasonableness of their fees, on a case-by-case basis, whenever in the Attorney General's judgment the public was being deceived about the charitable nature of a fund-raising campaign because the fund-raiser's fee was too high." Id., at 362, 763 N. E. 2d, at 299. The threatened exposure to litigation costs and penalties, the court said, "could produce a substantial chilling effect on protected speech." Ibid. We granted certiorari. 537 U. S. 999 (2002).
II
The First Amendment protects the right to engage in charitable solicitation. See Schaumburg, 444 U. S., at 632 ("charitable appeals for funds . . . involve a variety of speech interests—communication of information, the dissemination and propagation of views and ideas, and the advocacy of
6 Contracts for fundraising campaigns in Illinois must be filed with the State's Attorney General, see Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 225, §§ 460/2(a)(10) and 460/7 (2001), and those contracts must disclose all fundraiser fees, including any "stated percentage of the gross amount raised" to be retained by the fundraiser, § 460/7(b); see § 460/7(d). The filings are open for public inspection. § 460/2(f). Illinois law also provides that fundraisers must disclose "the percentage to be received by the charitable organization from each contribution, if such disclosure is requested by the person solicited." § 460/17(b). Telemarketers did not challenge these requirements.
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