Over at the excellent On the Commons blog, David Bollier has been chronicling the bizarre situation in Silver Spring, Maryland, where

the Montgomery County Council, at the behest of a retail development company, had banned photography on certain public streets in Silver Spring, Maryland. Seems that the company felt that unauthorized photos might be used to embarrass the company or the stores it leases to. The good news from that town is that more than 100 citizens convened in downtown Silver Spring on the Fourth of July -- with cameras! -- to protest the ban and defend their First Amendment rights.

One member of Picture New York, Jem Cohen, said that he was motivated to work against the rules because of an experience in 2005 when federal agents seized film that he had shot from the window of an Amtrak train to Washington...In the end, some opponents said, the rules could diminish the visual legacy of New York, one of the most photographed and filmed cities in the world. "People look at New York as a romantic and fascinating place," said Beka Economopoulos, a member of Picture New York. "And part of that is because of all the iconic images that have been created here."