Federal Right to Record Act of 2026: Public Recording Model Legislation

This artifact provides an open-source model federal statute protecting the public’s ability to record federal officers performing official duties in public spaces. The model is built around a simple public principle: if a person has a lawful right to be present, that person has a right to record. The proposed statute affirms the right to record federal officers, prohibits retaliation for recording, protects recordings and recording devices from unlawful seizure or destruction, creates an independent investigation pathway, and establishes a statutory civil-remedy structure. The artifact includes both a public narrative overview and model statute text. It is intended as a practical civic/legal tool for lawmakers, advocates, journalists, civil-rights organizations, policy staff, researchers, and members of the public. This is not enacted law, legal advice, or a complete state/local recording-rights framework. It is a federal model focused on federal officers. State and local versions would need to be drafted separately.