Yesterday we looked at the legal basis.
Today we look at the practice: concrete examples of people who take a camera and check whether the government sticks to the rules.
Long Island Audit
SeanPaul Reyes, better known as Long Island Audit, is one of the best-known American auditors. He films police stations, city halls, post offices and other public buildings. He asks questions when officials or officers try to stop him, and posts the footage online.
Reyes has had numerous encounters that ended in arrests or threats. In several cases the charges were later dropped or downgraded. A recent trespassing charge at the Suffolk County police union headquarters, for example, was reduced after the video undercut the police claims. His channel has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and the footage serves both as documentation and as education: it shows how public officials react when someone exercises their constitutional rights.
Not every audit goes smoothly. Some end in conflicts about the boundary between public and private space. But the common thread remains: the camera forces power to know its own rules.
Patrick Ryder and the broader context
In various cases around Long Island and neighbouring counties the response of senior police officials also played a role, including then-commissioner Patrick Ryder. Auditors were not only testing officers on the street but also the policies and training inside the departments themselves. The confrontations made visible how large the gap can be between what the law allows and what is enforced in practice.
Closer to home: John Melskens
Not everyone has to be an American auditor. Closer to home there is John Melskens, a former photographer for various newspapers. During the corona demonstrations he documented everything, and he still does: simply going out with a camera, taking photos and publishing them on Facebook.
It is not exactly the same as the American auditors. He does not systematically test the boundaries of the law by asking questions or provoking reactions. But the principle comes close: a citizen who documents what happens in public space, without asking for permission and without being stopped by discomfort or authority.
What these cases show
The American examples show that the legal space exists and that this space has to be constantly tested. The Dutch example of John Melskens shows that documenting is also possible here, even though the cultural and legal room is smaller.
Tomorrow we look exactly at that contrast: what is allowed here and what is not?
Question for you
Do you know examples of people in the Netherlands or Europe who openly document what officials and police officers do in public space? And how is that responded to?
Long Island Audit –> https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1bLqFS2kRg/
John Melskens –> https://www.facebook.com/john.melskens
This post is 100% authentic and verifiable via:
https://openinternetmanifest.org/nl/hash-verifier
### RVN: 1st Amendment Auditors – concrete cases
Yesterday we looked at the legal basis.
Today we look at the practice: concrete examples of people who take a camera and check whether the government sticks to the rules.
### Long Island Audit
SeanPaul Reyes, better known as Long Island Audit, is one of the best-known American auditors. He films police stations, city halls, post offices and other public buildings. He asks questions when officials or officers try to stop him, and posts the footage online.
Reyes has had numerous encounters that ended in arrests or threats. In several cases the charges were later dropped or downgraded. A recent trespassing charge at the Suffolk County police union headquarters, for example, was reduced after the video undercut the police claims. His channel has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and the footage serves both as documentation and as education: it shows how public officials react when someone exercises their constitutional rights.
Not every audit goes smoothly. Some end in conflicts about the boundary between public and private space. But the common thread remains: the camera forces power to know its own rules.
### Patrick Ryder and the broader context
In various cases around Long Island and neighbouring counties the response of senior police officials also played a role, including then-commissioner Patrick Ryder. Auditors were not only testing officers on the street but also the policies and training inside the departments themselves. The confrontations made visible how large the gap can be between what the law allows and what is enforced in practice.
### Closer to home: John Melskens
Not everyone has to be an American auditor. Closer to home there is John Melskens, a former photographer for various newspapers. During the corona demonstrations he documented everything, and he still does: simply going out with a camera, taking photos and publishing them on Facebook.
It is not exactly the same as the American auditors. He does not systematically test the boundaries of the law by asking questions or provoking reactions. But the principle comes close: a citizen who documents what happens in public space, without asking for permission and without being stopped by discomfort or authority.
### What these cases show
The American examples show that the legal space exists and that this space has to be constantly tested. The Dutch example of John Melskens shows that documenting is also possible here, even though the cultural and legal room is smaller.
Tomorrow we look exactly at that contrast: what is allowed here and what is not?
**Question for you**
Do you know examples of people in the Netherlands or Europe who openly document what officials and police officers do in public space? And how is that responded to?
#1stAmendment #LongIslandAudit #JohnMelskens #Accountability #RightToRecord #RealityVsNarrative #RVN #OpenInternetManifest
https://openinternetmanifest.org
Long Island Audit --> https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1bLqFS2kRg/
John Melskens --> https://www.facebook.com/john.melskens
This post is 100% authentic and verifiable via:
https://openinternetmanifest.org/nl/hash-verifier
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