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CJR: How the fight over undercover videos is pitting Planned Parenthood against mainstream media
http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/planned_parenthood_undercover_videos_california_media.php
How the fight over undercover videos is pitting Planned Parenthood against the mainstream media
By Tony Biasotti
August 5, 2016
For the past year, Planned Parenthood and its supporters have been locked in a bitter legal and political battle with the anti-abortion activists and self-proclaimed citizen journalists who produced and released hidden-camera recordings of meetings with the group’s officials.
As part of that fight, the organization’s California affiliate is pushing to change state law, creating new criminal penalties for the distribution of undercover videos. But that effort has brought it into a second dispute—more amicable, but still real—with mainstream media groups in the state. And now the legislative struggle is coming to a head, with lawmakers back from their July recess and facing an Aug. 31 deadline to pass bills.
At issue is Assembly Bill 1671, introduced in January by Los Angeles Democrat Jimmy Gomez, at the behest of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. The bill, which passed the Assembly in May, is designed to punish the distribution of recordings of healthcare professionals made in violation of the state’s two-party consent law. Supporters say it’s necessary to deter recordings like the ones that targeted Planned Parenthood, in which the group’s officials were filmed discussing compensation for donations of fetal tissue as part of a sting operation conducted by the Center for Medical Progress. To bolster their case, they point to a surge in death threats against abortion providers since those videos were released.
A host of media-industry and civil-liberties organizations, however, have lined up against the measure. The California Newspaper Publishers Association, which is leading the opposition effort, argues that without major changes the bill could criminalize acts of journalism, and the group has made the issue one of its top priorities in Sacramento.
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How the fight over undercover videos is pitting Planned Parenthood against the mainstream media
By Tony Biasotti
August 5, 2016
For the past year, Planned Parenthood and its supporters have been locked in a bitter legal and political battle with the anti-abortion activists and self-proclaimed citizen journalists who produced and released hidden-camera recordings of meetings with the group’s officials.
As part of that fight, the organization’s California affiliate is pushing to change state law, creating new criminal penalties for the distribution of undercover videos. But that effort has brought it into a second dispute—more amicable, but still real—with mainstream media groups in the state. And now the legislative struggle is coming to a head, with lawmakers back from their July recess and facing an Aug. 31 deadline to pass bills.
At issue is Assembly Bill 1671, introduced in January by Los Angeles Democrat Jimmy Gomez, at the behest of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. The bill, which passed the Assembly in May, is designed to punish the distribution of recordings of healthcare professionals made in violation of the state’s two-party consent law. Supporters say it’s necessary to deter recordings like the ones that targeted Planned Parenthood, in which the group’s officials were filmed discussing compensation for donations of fetal tissue as part of a sting operation conducted by the Center for Medical Progress. To bolster their case, they point to a surge in death threats against abortion providers since those videos were released.
A host of media-industry and civil-liberties organizations, however, have lined up against the measure. The California Newspaper Publishers Association, which is leading the opposition effort, argues that without major changes the bill could criminalize acts of journalism, and the group has made the issue one of its top priorities in Sacramento.
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http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/08/11/abortion-clinic-sting-videos-sprout-free-speech-battle.htm
Abortion Clinic Sting Videos Sprout Free-Speech Battle
Thursday, August 11, 2016
By NICK CAHILL
SACRAMENTO (CN) — Controversy surrounding secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood employees discussing fetal tissue sales has morphed into a California proposal that would punish media companies for reporting on certain undercover videos. But media groups say the bill, which is on the verge of clearing the Legislature, could have a "chilling effect" on free speech and set the state up for First Amendment court battles.
Born from the 2015 hidden-camera footage released by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress, Planned Parenthood is pushing Assembly Bill 1671 which it claims will protect abortion clinics and other health care providers from similar malicious sting operations.
The bill would criminalize publishing undercover video footage of "health care providers" and subject third parties, including journalists, to penalties for reporting and distributing the illegally recorded footage.
Under AB 1671, a journalist receiving and posting footage from an anonymous source could be punished by the state as well as be opened up to potential civil lawsuits. Whistleblowers would not be exempt from the proposal either, regardless of how they obtained the illegal footage.
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A combination of media, civil rights groups and state Republicans are leading the fight against the proposal they say will weaken the First Amendment.
Nikki Moore, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, said the bill creates a dangerous liability for the distribution of footage and could unintentionally punish more people than intended. She said the publishers association has been working with Planned Parenthood since March to narrow the bill, but that the series of amendments have not gone far enough.
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Adam Schwartz, senior counsel with the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the bill deals with two important fundamental American rights — right to privacy and a free press.
The American Civil Liberties Union of California is also opposed to the Planned Parenthood bill, citing the proposal's "potential for real harm."
The opponents take issue with how the bill specifically criminalizes the distribution of communication with a health care provider. Targeting a specific area of speech amounts to content-based regulation of speech and is unconstitutional, the ACLU claims.
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Abortion Clinic Sting Videos Sprout Free-Speech Battle
Thursday, August 11, 2016
By NICK CAHILL
SACRAMENTO (CN) — Controversy surrounding secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood employees discussing fetal tissue sales has morphed into a California proposal that would punish media companies for reporting on certain undercover videos. But media groups say the bill, which is on the verge of clearing the Legislature, could have a "chilling effect" on free speech and set the state up for First Amendment court battles.
Born from the 2015 hidden-camera footage released by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress, Planned Parenthood is pushing Assembly Bill 1671 which it claims will protect abortion clinics and other health care providers from similar malicious sting operations.
The bill would criminalize publishing undercover video footage of "health care providers" and subject third parties, including journalists, to penalties for reporting and distributing the illegally recorded footage.
Under AB 1671, a journalist receiving and posting footage from an anonymous source could be punished by the state as well as be opened up to potential civil lawsuits. Whistleblowers would not be exempt from the proposal either, regardless of how they obtained the illegal footage.
<>
A combination of media, civil rights groups and state Republicans are leading the fight against the proposal they say will weaken the First Amendment.
Nikki Moore, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, said the bill creates a dangerous liability for the distribution of footage and could unintentionally punish more people than intended. She said the publishers association has been working with Planned Parenthood since March to narrow the bill, but that the series of amendments have not gone far enough.
<>
Adam Schwartz, senior counsel with the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the bill deals with two important fundamental American rights — right to privacy and a free press.
"When these two rights come into conflict, it's important that we write laws with a scalpel," Schwartz said. "The EFF is opposed because we think that it could be applied to punish a journalist who had nothing to do with making an unlawful recording."
The American Civil Liberties Union of California is also opposed to the Planned Parenthood bill, citing the proposal's "potential for real harm."
The opponents take issue with how the bill specifically criminalizes the distribution of communication with a health care provider. Targeting a specific area of speech amounts to content-based regulation of speech and is unconstitutional, the ACLU claims.
"The same rationale for punishing communications of some preferred professions or industries could as easily be applied to other communications [such as] law enforcement, animal testing labs, gun makers, lethal injection drug producers, the petroleum industry and religious sects," ACLU legislative director Kevin Baker wrote in an opposition letter sent to Gomez.
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https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1671
