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Asked & Answered

A&A: Can a private company profit by selling public information

FAC December 21, 2011

Q: Can a private company make a profit by selling public information? Or is there a law that says they cannot take public information and charge people to look at it? A: There is no restriction on a private entity that obtains public records from charging someone for copies of those records. The Public Records Act’s prohibition on charging for copies, beyond the direct costs of duplication, applies only to governmental agencies. Those who want

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A&A: Where can we legally hold a protest?

FAC December 20, 2011

Q: I have a small group that would like to do a small Black Friday protest that would be focused on expressing gratitude and inviting passers-by to do the same (probably via posters, video messages, and large white boards) as an alternative to consumerism. I would like to know where we can protest. We want to be somewhere near where heavy Black Friday shopping is going on, (like the main street in front of the

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A&A: Commissioner advised speaking to press could give rise to Brown Act violation

FAC December 5, 2011

Q: I am a city commissioner, and I was recently advised against voicing my opinion to the press on any subject that is or in the future may be under my commission’s jurisdiction.  The concern is that  later other commissioners may choose to speak to the press on the same subject and give rise to a Brown Act violation. I am very concerned that this interpretation of the Brown Act violates my First Amendment right

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A&A: Do students’ free speech rights extend to internet and TV broadcasts?

FAC December 2, 2011

Q: Does California Ed Code 48907 apply to non-print media (ie: school news broadcasts via TV or internet)? If not, is there another code protecting non-print media and if so, where can I find documentation to support an effort to protect the same freedoms as EC 48907 for my TV Broadcasting students in a high school class? A: Education Code § 48907 provides that “[p]upils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the

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A&A: Can police videotape me in my home without consent?

FAC December 1, 2011

Q: Can the police videotape interactions with the public without the public’s consent? Not just in public, where there may be less of an expectation of privacy, but when they enter an apartment or home (permissive entry), and they do not ask permission to videotape but do so anyway with hidden video cameras? A: You pose an interesting question. A provision of California’s Penal Code imposes penalties for “intentionally and without the consent of all

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