Criticizing government is an American tradition that goes back further than the country’s founding. Unfortunately, so does the tradition of political figures attempting to silence criticism.
Latest case in point: the city of Coral Gables, Fla.
When an unhappy resident created Facebook and Instagram pages criticizing the city for its use of private security guards in place of police officers, city officials didn’t take the criticism to heart and hold a town hall meeting about the issue in question. Instead, they had their attorney send cease-and-desist letters to Facebook and Instagram threatening fines of $500 dollars a day if the pages were not removed.
Their argument for why the social media giants should comply? According to Deputy City Attorney Miriam Ramos, the posts infringed on the Coral Gables city trademark.
This line of argument is specious at best. The Facebook page was merely named “Protect Coral Gables” and didn’t purport to be an official account representing the city itself, even though the city’s official seal was used. If invoking the city’s name while criticizing it is a violation of trademark, then so would leaving a negative Yelp review about McDonald’s.
While Facebook removed the page (though it was quickly replaced by another one) Instagram has so far refused to take action against the account.
Undeterred, city bosses went beyond any reasonable course of action and filed a lawsuit demanding Facebook and Instagram release the name, phone number and address of “whoever cast the city in a false light.”
These petulant demands would be laughable if they weren’t so disturbing.
The actions taken by Coral Gables are yet another example in a troubling trend of politicians trying to use their political power to quiet critics and silence opposition. Coral Gables has made this desire explicit, but not all politicians are so straightforward with their intentions.
In states around the country, many politicians have pushed so-called transparency laws. When most people think of transparency, it means shining a light on the workings of government so we can hold political figures accountable.
But politicians turn the notion on its head. They want to expose citizens participating in the political process by forcing non-profits to report to the government the names, addresses, and employers of their financial supporters. This information would then be put on a public website accessible to anyone who might wish to harass them, or worse.
Supporters of these laws claim they will allow the sun to shine on the political process, but the results would be much darker. By requiring that supporters’ private information be publicly accessible, thin-skinned politicians hope that the threat of intimidation will dissuade individuals from participating in the first place.
It’s important that both legally and culturally we work to protect the privacy of those who want to voice dissent. Instagram should be lauded for refusing to go along with Coral Gables’ ridiculous cease-and-desist letter, but more needs to be done.
Ordinary citizens across the political spectrum should reward politicians who are willing to listen to their concerns, even if those concerns are expressed anonymously. And they should hold accountable those who work to silence speech.
Only by defending these bedrock principles at the federal, state and local levels can we protect free speech – and the republic our Founders gave us.
Eric Peterson (@IllinoisEric89) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity.
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