United States Law
In the US, free speech is considered an essential and absolute civil right of every individual. The only exceptions to this are sedition, as defined by the Smith Act, public displays of pornography & obscenity and criminal behavior such as fraud or defamation. It matters not whether people practise artistic free speech for money. If two or more persons conspire to violate a persons civil rights they are violating federal law. It is also a violation of federal law if an officer of the law violates a persons civil rights under the color of the law. It is the duty of all police officers to protect and preserve the constitution and these civil rights. [15]
In the United States there have been numerous legal cases about regulations and laws that have decided the rights of buskers to perform in public. Most of these laws and regulations have been found to be unconstitutional when challenged. In the USA about the only reasons that can be used to regulate or ban busking behavior are public safety issues and noise issues in certain areas that require silence like hospital zones, around churches, funeral homes, cemeteries and transport terminals where announcements need to be heard. Such laws must be narrowly tailored to eliminate only the perceived evils by limiting the time, place and manner that busking may be practiced. They must also leave open reasonable alternative venues.
In the US, laws regulating or banning busking must be applied evenly to all forms of free speech. Busking cannot be prohibited in an area where other forms of free speech are not prohibited. For example if busking is regulated or banned but people are allowed to conduct free speech behavior for pickets, protests, religious, political, educational, sports, commercial or other purposes then the law is illegal. In the USA any form of regulation on artistic free speech must not be judgmental, and permits must not be so restrictive, complex, difficult or expensive to obtain that they inhibit free speech.