What does it mean if a regulation is "narrowly tailored"?

A regulation is deemed "narrowly tailored" when it specifically addresses an important government interest without being overly broad or general. This means the regulation is carefully constructed to achieve its intended purpose while imposing the least amount of restriction on individual rights or freedoms necessary to achieve that goal. In the context of constitutional law, particularly when evaluating regulations under strict scrutiny standards, a narrowly tailored regulation is essential because it must not only serve a significant governmental interest but also be designed in such a way that it limits its impact as much as possible.

For instance, if a regulation restricts free speech, it must target only those specific types of speech that pose a legitimate threat to the government interest, rather than broadly suppressing a wide array of speech that is unrelated to that interest.

In contrast, options that suggest a regulation should apply to a wide range of situations, allows broad discretion, or is easily applied to any case do not align with the concept of being narrowly tailored. Instead, these attributes would indicate a lack of specificity and focus, which goes against the purpose of ensuring that regulations are as limited in scope as necessary to serve their intended function effectively.