There are laws making it illegal to collect data on open land

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11. The Idaho law was recently ruled unconstitutional

But that case and other like it involve undercover investigators getting jobs at these facilities and then secretly filming the abuse of animals -- so questions of trespassing don't enter into it.

What makes it tricky is that corporations are attempting to conceal their illegal or unethical activities in any number of ways. Non-disclosure agreements that prevent former employees or contractors from acting as whistleblowers are another example. In every case, what's at stake is the public's right to transparency. But the legal twists and turns can be very different depending on the specific situation.