For a long time, the US National Park Service had an arbitrary (and obnoxious) permitting process for photography – and especially shooting video – in national parks. If you shot a video on your smart phone, posted on YouTube, and if any ads appeared (over which you might not have control), you were in violation of NPS regulations and subject to large fines.
The NPS demanded you apply for an expensive permit, purchase liability insurance, and possibly pay to have a park ranger accompany you during your entire shoot. Even if you are just one person. But it was arbitrary: a “TV news crew” did not need a permit, but an individual with an iPhone did. You could take still photos with your digital camera and share them online, but if you pressed the Red video recording button, you violated their regulations.
Congress stepped in and passed the EXPLORE Act which makes taking photos and videos in the national parks legal again.
New ‘EXPLORE Act’ Fixes Permit Issues for Filmmakers in National Parks – SnowBrains
