Filed on December 10, 2018, the United States District Court District of Massachusetts found, “the First Amendment protects the right to record audio and video of government officials,” deeming the law prohibiting secret recordings of government officials unconstitutional.
The unconstitutional law, enforceable in Massachusetts since 1968, allowed for a felony conviction for up to five years in prison, and a $10,000 for the secret recording of a public official.
Audio Recording is More Powerful Than Ordinary Reporting
The Court explained in the judgement that “audio and audiovisual recording are uniquely reliable and powerful methods of preserving and disseminating news and information about events that occur in public. Their self-authenticating character makes it highly unlikely that other methods could be considered reasonably adequate substitutes.”
The Court agreed in the judgment that secretly recording government officials is a “basic, vital, and well-established liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment.”
So...what about this other case then? And thanks for the post the summed it up very well.