Can some one explain this defenition of prior restraint to me?

[bronsin]

Law judicial suppression of material that would be published or broadcast, on the grounds that it is libelous or harmful. In U.S. law, the first amendment severely limits the ability of the government to do this.


i just dont understand it at all. So i think it means restraining people to publish things? but i have no clue

[darce]

A prior restraint can happen to written or spoken material.

Think of it this way: a reporter has an investigative story they've written on a topic. The subject of the story gets a restraining order prohibiting the reporter from publishing the material in the paper or sharing it on the TV news. That's a prior restraint - a bit simplified, but you get the idea.