u/whythesquid

There were some 1st amendment "auditors" outside Trader Joe's in Camarillo today. These three were pretty aggressive. I've seen other "auditors" before who hang back and try other tactics like wearing masks to bait people. These guys today were shoving cameras in peoples' faces and making it difficult for carts to leave the store by standing on the sloped exit ramp. Couple of tips for y'all:

(1) Yes, filming in public as they do is legal. They are usually careful to stop just short of crossing the line and have spent some time learning the laws. Don't argue with them about this; they will post it for views and so it gives them money.

(2) They may get aggressive and are will try to antagonize you. At other locations they have followed people to their vehicles and filmed them through the vehicle windows, or followed them to another store. Ignore them until they break the law.

(3) The cops will not get involved until someone does something illegal. If the cops get involved before then, the "auditors" get a huge financial boost from number of views, and there is a potential lawsuit against the city for violating their 1st amendment rights. So don't call the cops or threaten to call the cops. It just encourages the "auditors" to antagonize you more. Don't tell them you don't consent to filming or anything similar; just drives up that view counter.

(4) Generally, don't engage. If you see someone getting angry and feel you should step in, best thing to do is to avoid saying anything. Just walk over and play "Let It Go" on your phone. Really, anything Disney will do, but Let It Go is so thematically appropriate. Once that music is playing in the background, they can't post their video segment on most social media with its audio, because the Big Bad Mouse will order it taken down to protect copyright.

(5) Another tactic to defuse a situation is to start asking stupidly innocuous questions. Like "Hey, nice hat, where did you get it?" They'll probably film you and say "I don't have to answer that!" Just respond "Oh, I know, you have rights. I was just curious and thought I would ask. Oh by the way, do you know how to get to the nearest Thai food restaurant?" And so on. This is not the content they want, and you are eating up their time and batteries. Don't ask anything that they could possibly twist around to use as content (nothing about their camera, or where they live, or why they are filming, or anything insulting to them). This can give another person the chance to cool off and just walk away.

And remember, if you run across these "1st amendment audit" videos on social media, they are heavily edited to make it look like the "auditor" is peacefully minding their own business, then suddenly all of these Karens/Darrens get up in their faces. These "auditors" are not heroes or Robin Hoods, they are not sticking it to the man, and they are definitely not "educating the public".

Should we be wary to protect and defend our rights? Sure. These guys aren't. They're doing it for the views.

Hope this helps, and I hope you don't run into these parasitic jackasses.