WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court notched a win for First Amendment advocates in North Carolina on Monday, declining to review a state law struck down by a lower court that would punish people who expose their employers' misconduct.
North Carolina’s Property Protection Act is an extreme version of an ag-gag law, which aims at preventing whistleblowers and undercover activists from recording footage showing abuse in animal agriculture. North Carolina’s version, however, covers all industries, assigning big risks to reporting not only animal mistreatment but also medical malpractice and child abuse.
“We've seen the power of recording in so many ways,” David Muraskin, an attorney with Public Justice representing the animal rights groups in the case, said in a phone call. “George Floyd became a national issue and got the attention he deserved because someone was standing there with a phone recording what went on. We've seen how recordings document sexual harassment and abuse at the workplace.”
Muraskin praised the high court’s decision not to revive North Carolina’s law, saying Americans have a First Amendment right to communicate openly and honestly about these issues.
“The notion that an employer should be able to censor those recordings and keep that kind of dialogue from occurring really shows you the core value that drives this, which is secrecy and business profits are more important than the sanctity of our laws, values and of the safety of the people who live and...
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