Printing allows the written word to be widely available. Because it is a means of disseminating revolutionary ideas or of attacking established power, there have been attempts on part of secular and religious institutions to contain or suppress the written word. The Catholic Church began banning heretical writings long before the introduction of printing, and as early as the council of Nicea in 325. Abelard's works were banned in 1121, the Hebrew Talmud was banned from 1239 to 1329, and in 1520 all the works of Martin Luther, both extant and forthcoming, were also prohibited. Governmental leaders also undertook to ban books, including Henry VIII of England, Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Spanish Inquisition, where Church and state collaborated.

The power of the written word was such that many rulers attempted to control the entire process of printing, making it illegal to print without permission or license. Others confined their prohibitions to those works which violated established standards. Although the american bill of rights protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press, the publication and distribution of works deemed seditious, immoral, or outside the community standards has nevertheless, at various times been prohibited.