Turns out Alaska Rep Mike Dugan’s theory about the need for transparency in public debate is, shall we say, a bit wrong. Via comments at The Mudflats, it turns out that the Supreme Court has definitely ruled on this sort of thing, notably in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, the Court said:
“Protections for anonymous speech are vital to democratic discourse. Allowing dissenters to shield their identities frees them to express critical, minority views . . . Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society”
One of Doogan’s contentions is that anonymous blogging is akin to wearing a hood at a KKK rally, so it’s also rather ironic that the part of the Civil Rights Act that covers this stuff traces it roots back to the Klu Klux Klan Act of 1871. I don’t know for a fact, but my hunch is that this was designed to go after any civil officials that aided the Klan, such as local Sheriff’s, etc:
Section 1983 of title 42 of the US Code provides:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
This would seem to indicate that when Rep. Doogan used his official website in his capacity as State Congressmen he not only violated her First Amendment rights under the Constitution, but he also opened himself up to a civil lawsuit. This in addition to any other State laws he may have violated in denying a constituent their rights (some indicated this may be a violation of the state Constitution as well).
This one has exploded across the blogosphere, and from the look of the Mudflats front page, into the political realm of the state legislature as well.
Nevermind etiquette – I’m thinking Rep. Doogan wishes he’d learned a bit more about internet traditions about now.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: dickishness, Doogan, failure, morality, privacy
