North Carolina Bill SB648

Senator Brent Jackson, a Republican from Autryville, North Carolina, has introduced a bill in North Carolina that would make it an offence to lie on a job application in order to be able to record information or to obtain documents from a business.  If this was done, those documents and recordings would have to be turned over to law enforcement within a 24 hour period.  The N.C. Chamber is backing bill SB648.

Opposing the bill are dozens of organizations including the National Press Photographers Association.  Their reasons for opposing are as follows:

• It abridges the First Amendment rights of citizens and journalists
• The bill possibly violates North Carolina's shield law
• It fails to allow reporters or others an opportunity to argue before a judge concerning whether or not the shield law applies.
• Offenders would be fined $10,000 for the first offense and $50,000 for each offense that follows.

This bill would effectively prohibit all private undercover investigations of businesses.