Howard Wasserman flags Dahlia Lithwick's story about how prosecutors in Illinois are prosecuting two individuals who recorded their interactions with police on the grounds that the officers did not consent to the recordings. These felony prosecutions may be consistent with the state's two-party consent rule. And maybe they even comply with the Constitution. (It appears that Judge Posner wasn't troubled.) But it seems clear to me that if police or prosecutors in Cairo, Damascus or Beijing emulated this action, they would be accused of repression.
I assume that government officials in these countries are paying close attention to these laws and will adopt similar provisions shortly. Meanwhile, perhaps we can look forward to an Illinois Spring, with citizens across the Prairie State recording their interactions with police officers and posting them to YouTube. Unless Illinois prosecutors take action against Google for publication of un-consented-to videos.
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