Project Veritas Sues Over Mass. Eavesdropping Law

Project Veritas Action Fund, the conservative activist group that makes and posts hidden camera videos that have most recently targeted alleged Democratic voter fraud, are going to court to challenge a Massachusetts law it says hampers those efforts.

The suit, Project Veritas Action Fund v. [Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel] Conley, takes aim at an eavesdropping law it argues unconstitutionally restricts newsgathering techniques allowed in most other states.

Journalists face a potential five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for secretly recording political candidates and public figures in public places and could even get prison time and a fine for simply possessing recording equipment.

“Because corrupt politicians don’t broadcast their fraud, waste and abuse on television or from a podium at a campaign rally, it’s critical that undercover reporters be allowed their constitutional rights in order to inform the public about wrongdoing at taxpayer expense,” said PVA president James O’Keefe in a statement.

O'Keefe and company have made a name for themselves via undercover videos and audio recordings, some allegedly heavily edited, of ACORN staffers, Planned Parenthood and NPR execs, textbook distributors and others.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.