Читать книгу Food Regulation - Neal D. Fortin - Страница 281

1 5.1. Suppressing speech—ag‐gag laws. Since the 1990s, a number of states adopted “ag‐gag” laws. These laws prohibit filming or recording of agricultural activity without the consent of the owner. Some of the laws also ban applying for work at or entering an agricultural facility under false pretenses. These laws target undercover investigators who gain access to agricultural production facilities by taking jobs there to expose mistreatment of animals. Because of problems passing with laws, some states created “rapid‐reporting” legislation that requires turning over any animal abuse recordings to authorities within a short amount of time, such as 24 or 48 hours.Proponents of these laws argue that they protect farmers against propagandists presenting animal agriculture in a misleading way. Opponents argue that these are secrecy laws designed to hide animal abuse from the public. Courts have invalidated several of these state laws for violating the First Amendment's free‐speech protections. Even if a state can show a compelling interest behind these laws, they must still be narrowly tailored. See, e.g., Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Herbert, No. 13‐cv‐00679 (D. Utah Jul. 7, 2017).