On the basis of the First Amendment, a federal judge in Oregon overturned a law that criminalized recording people without their consent.
The Ninth Circuit panel found Oregon Law 165.540 unconstitutional on a 2-1 vote, as the state had no duty to protect privacy within public areas.
The original law was passed in 1955, and it later included secret recordings of conversations. There are some exceptions to the law, such as for law enforcement agencies or specific interest groups.
The decision is:
The government does not have a compelling interest in protecting individuals’ privacy against unwanted communications in public places, such as the recording of other people’s “speech” unless the violation of “substantial rights to privacy” is “essentially unacceptable”.
Judge Ikuta writes that the law “burdens more protected speech than necessary to achieve its declared interest”.
The law protects people’s privacy by regulating protected expression. Public speech does not violate privacy unless it is “essentially intolerant”. See Berger 569 F.3d, at 1056.
The Supreme Court said that it was “difficult” to justify a blanket ban on uninvited approaches.
In her dissenting view, Judge Morgan Christen wrote the law should remain in place because “the State has a significant stake to prevent secretly recording private conversations, even if these conversations occur in public or semipublic places.”
Project Veritas was the first to bring the case because it regularly uses recordings made undercover in order to expose leftist activists who abuse their powers to promote political agendas. The journalists were concerned that criminal charges might be brought against them, and they pointed out that many people refused to speak when they knew they were being recorded.
Project Veritas attorneys added that Oregon law prevents them from investigating the conduct of public officials or the skyrocketing crime rates.
Benjamin Barr is the attorney responsible for the group. He released a press statement to celebrate this decision.
We’re delighted that today the Ninth Circuit invalidated Oregon’s law that suppressed undercover journalism. It was the Ninth Circuit that invalidated the law, realizing that it wasn’t about protecting privacy but instead suppressing the undercover journalist.
The Oregon decision allows citizen journalists to share and collect valuable information without worrying about Oregon criminal sanctions. It is time to repeal laws that penalize such gathering of news.
James O’Keefe, the former CEO at Project Veritas. He left Project Veritas in a tense manner earlier this year. James O’Keefe previously said that the law allowed the government to “distort the newsgathering process” which prevented them from doing “effective journalistic work”.
California and Florida have rules that require consent from both parties. However, they do not apply in public spaces.
