News & Publications

This Article examines proposed “personal safety bubble” ordinances in Los Angeles aimed at restraining paparazzi, concluding they collide with core First Amendment protections.  Gary Wax explains that while the impulse to protect public safety and celebrity privacy is understandable, restricting photography on public streets implicates strong constitutional safeguards for speech and press activity.  Under established First Amendment doctrine, attempts to create buffer zones or selectively limit who can photograph in public spaces are likely to be struck down as overbroad or content-based, meaning that well-intentioned local efforts to curb aggressive paparazzi tactics are, as drafted, constitutionally unsustainable.

View Document