An appeals court has scaled back a lower-court ruling that threw out portions of a North Carolina law designed in part to prevent undercover employees at farms and other workplaces from taking documents or footage.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a trial judge went too far when striking down four provisions related to the potentially secretive activities as violating the First Amendment.
PETA and others sued over the law, saying it would prevent illegal or unethical behavior from being uncovered.
The prevailing opinion says those laws for now should only be blocked when PETA’s undercover work is performed to conduct newsgathering activities.