LA instituted a blanket ban on photography in Pershing Square during the Downtown Stage summer concerts, but the NPPA, ACLU, and others say the ban is unconstitutional. Photo: Visitor7
A photography ban that is being `strictly enforced` in a Los Angeles public park during a series free concerts has been branded `unconstitutional´ by city and national media and public liberties groups.
The picture-taking ban was put in place by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks at the request of the performers of the Pershing Square Downtown Stage summer concerts that are being held in the Pershing Square public park. However, freedom groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have complained the ban is at odds with the First Amendment of the American Constitution.
As the park is a public space, the City is acting unlawfully by restricting the rights of citizens and the media to record the events, and it doesn´t have the power to overrule constitutional rights, according to lawyers working for a group of bodies fighting the ban.
The National Press Photographers Association, Society of Professional Journalists/Los Angeles Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists/National, California Broadcasters Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Photographic Artists, American Society of Media Photographers, Digital Media Licensing Association, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Professional Photographers of America, Radio and Television Digital News Association, and Reporters Without Borders have got together with the ACLU to prepare a letter that was sent to the City department in which the collective protests the ban and states why it is unlawful.
The group specifically objects to a clause in the terms and conditions of the concerts that states that even photography and videography made on iPads will not be allowed:
(1) Cameras/Photography: At the request of the artist/performer, video, photo and audio devices are pro ...
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