It was designed to shield Big Hog and other giant agricultural corporations from embarrassing public scrutiny. By banning video and photography of Big Hog’s dirty operations, legislators sought to chill the efforts of whistleblowers, activists, and investigative journalists. The result became known as the “Ag-Gag” law.

Now the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has joined other federal courts in ruling that a key application of North Carolina’s “ag-gag” law is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The case reached the Court on a challenge by animal-rights activists.

“If PETA’s actions truly violate some lawful prohibition (like trespass), PETA may be charged for that violation. What North Carolina may not do, however, is craft a law targeting PETA’s protected right to speak,” said the Court. The state’s claim that such undercover operations fall outside the First Amendment “is a dangerous proposition that would wipe the Constitution’s most treasured protections from large tranches of our daily lives. Fortunately, it has no basis in law.” 

A win for whistleblowers

While this particular case involved a challenge by the animal-rights group PETA, the law they successfully challenged raised equal outrage among environmental advocates seeking to document and expose the air- and water-polluting practices of factory-style corporate farms. The result is a boon for those fighting to rein in abuses by an industry whose profit margins are padded by clinging to cheap and dirty waste disposal systems. 

The so-called “Property Protection Act,” passed in 2015, was challenged by other groups as well, including Food and Water Watch, the United Farm Workers, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The law was modeled on a 2003 bill drafted by corporate lobby group ALEC, called the “Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act.” Similar laws were adopted by states including Kansas, Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. Those laws have also been struck down in court.