The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a North Carolina police department policy prohibiting the livestreaming of traffic stops is unconstitutional unless the department can support its claim that broadcasting endangers officers.
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On Tuesday, the Fourth Circuit vacated a portion of the lower court’s decision that found the Winterville Police Department’s livestreaming prohibition acceptable. But it upheld the lower court’s finding that Helms could not be held personally liable for violating Sharpe’s rights under the qualified immunity afforded to police.
“Recording police encounters creates information that contributes to discussion about governmental affairs,” the Fourth Circuit decision [PDF] states. “So too does livestreaming disseminate that information, often creating its own record. We thus hold that livestreaming a police traffic stop is speech protected by the First Amendment.”
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