Many of these bills are explicit about not just targeting the people
who do the investigation but the people who distributed it, who
republish it. For instance, there was an investigation a couple of
years ago that at the same time the group, Mercy for Animals, was
conducting the investigation ABC news was following along with it,
aired the same footage, after they verified it, and it drew national
attention to this and criminal charges. Under these bills, in North
Carolina, for example, both the investigator and the journalist would
be wrapped up together.
http://www.onthemedia.org/2013/mar/01/states-consider-so-cal...I'm looking for more references now.
However this law in Indiana does, http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2013/SB/SB0373.2.html
IANAL but this appears to make distribution of such recordings illegal:
Makes it unlawful recording of agricultural or industrial
operations, a Class A infraction, for a person, with intent to harass,
defame, annoy, or harm, to: (1) enter real property that is owned by
another person and on which agricultural operations or industrial
operations are being conducted; (2) take a photograph of or make a
video recording or motion picture of the real property, structures
located on the real property, or the agricultural operations or
industrial operations being conducted on the real property; and (3)
distribute the photograph or recording; without the written consent of
the owner of the real property or an authorized representative of the
owner.What raynier is saying (I think) is that if it is illegal to trespass, then it is illegal to trespass for purposes of whistleblowing because that is still trespassing - imagine if they had trespassed, filmed, and found nothing illegal. If one of the farm workers were to film the video, there would have been no trespassing - it would constitute whistleblowing.
Not exactly. What I'm saying is:
1) The Constitution only prohibits governments from restricting free speech;
2) What you do on other peoples' private property is rarely if ever considered free speech or free expression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruneyard_Shopping_Center_v._Ro...