The Iowa Legislature passed Ag-Gag laws in 2012 and 2017 and most recently, 2021.  All three versions have been declared unconstitutional based on First Amendment rights.

In the most recent ruling, U.S. District Court Chief Judge for the Southern District of Iowa, Stephanie M. Rose, ruled that recording videos on a farm is a necessary precursor of distribution of material that would be protected by the First Amendment and therefore, the latest iteration of the Ag-Gag law is invalid.  Intentional trespass is prohibited under Iowa law but raising the penalty to an aggravated misdemeanor for intrusion for the purposes of recording and subsequent dissemination of videos represents a greater punishment than simple trespass. 

Judge Rose noted that the law “enhances the penalty for conduct that is already prohibited by law and punishes a trespasser exercising a constitutional right”.

Animal rights groups have successfully opposed sequential versions of Iowa Ag-Gag laws. Accordingly legislators in various states that have passed laws limiting intrusion for the purposes of recording images will be hard pressed to frame restrictions that do not conflict with the First Amendment of the Constitution.

It is possible that laws could be structured to prevent intrusion based on biosecurity and the protection of flocks from the introduction of disease rather than restricting intrusion for the purposes of obtaining visual images for subsequent distribution.