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BillP's comments:
on In Public View
The issue is really: How far should privacy go? I'm in favor of as much as possible. Should our health records be public? Should our votes for political candidates be public? Folks' opinions seem to be informed by which issue they think they would be called upon to stand up for (or against) publicly. This issue cuts both ways. The Facebook privacy controversy illustrates this.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on In Public View
I agree with this, wholeheartedly. There are many whackos out there who will go to extremes to harass those who express opposing opinions. We need to balance the rights of individuals to not be harrassed with the open disclosure of who supports particular initiatives. When an organization puts big money into getting an initiative passed, that should be disclosed. But, when an individual signs a petition, the potential discouragement of free speech needs to be balanced against the so called "right" of organizations to identify me and harass me. However, if I gave a substantial amount of money to support the initiative, I should be willing to stand up to public scrutiny.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on In Public View
Regarding the "slippery slope", I liken the signing of a petition for a law more like voting, than to giving money to support and initiative. Would folks want their votes at the ballot box to be made public? However, if a person or organization gave significant money to support an initiative petition, that should be made public. I feel that the possibility of being harassed or sent spam email for signing a petition for an initiative to be more harmful than having a single voter's name being private.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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