Restrictions were placed on journalists during the eviction of unhoused people from the Downtown Eastside on Wednesday – they were allowed one camera that could share the footage with all the media outlets and were limited in their movements via an “exclusion zone”. The Vancouver police said it was for the safety and privacy of the people within the encampment, but press freedom advocates said that they couldn’t impose these restrictions without an injunction. They argued that without unrestricted access they can’t tell both sides of the story to the public. The police did not cite any legal authority but said they have a “responsibility to create a safe space”. Do you think this should be allowed? Do you think police should have the right to override freedom of press for privacy/safety reasons? I think this is a good example of the intersection of law and media in our own backyard.
For more see: https://globalnews.ca/news/9605098/press-freedom-advocates-condemn-media-restrictions-dtes-eviction/