When is journalism a criminal act? When it's bad for big business, according to new laws in the United States – laws that may be about to find their way to Australian shores.
This week a collaboration of journalists, activists and academics filed a lawsuit against legislation that is distorting the very nature of free speech in order to satisfy big industry interests. The laws, known as "ag-gag”, criminalise those who film, photograph or distribute images of animal enterprise industries such as factory farms. In some American states, they are expanded to include other industries such as logging or fracking.
One of those involved in the lawsuit is Washington DC based journalist and author Will Potter, who has spent over a decade investigating how corporate influences and US law enforcement has worked to silence political dissent. “I felt compelled to join this lawsuit because ag-gag laws are especially troubling to me as a journalist", said Potter.
"Whistleblowers and undercover investigators shine a light on criminal activity, and also standard industry practices. Without them, there would be no insight into the industry except for what the industry approves", he said. Amnesty International, the Humane Society and United Farmworkers are amongst the 59 organisations who have joined together to oppose the bills.
While 10 American states have adopted these laws in the past year, growing public opposition has had success in stopping them in some states. The first prosecution took place recebtly in Utah, when a woman filmed a slaughterhouse from a public street. The case was dropped after a public outcry. "News of her case went viral and the mayor and prosecutor were flooded with calls", says Potter.
What do laws on the other side of the world have to do with Australia? Australia has a tradition of following suit on many policies implemented in the US. It comes as no surprise, then, that there are now proponents emerging of the ag-gag bills here too. In response, Potter is doing a speaking tour with events in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart in early August.
"We've often talked about state repression. But I would argue what is going on right now is a shift to what I would call corporate-driven repression. Corporations have been behind this every step of the way. And we know that corporations have no boundaries, no limits to any nation state. They pursue their profits around the world and they take these tactics with them. Many of these laws that originated in the US have already spread to other countries".
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