Government lists have a sordid history in America. From Joseph McCarthy’s “list of communists” in the 1950s, to Richard Nixon’s “enemies list,” lists of political opponents have been used to damage reputations and ruin lives. While at one time these types of lists could be used only by the politically-powerful and well-connected, the internet has made it easy for anyone with a computer to compile an enemies list.
A recent and troubling example involves the online message board 4chan. A group of 4chan-using Trump supporters obtained the names of those who signed a petition on Refusefascism.org and highlighted it online for their members to see. The group has continued to add to the list, and 4chan users are now connecting names of the signatories to their social media accounts and participation in political groups, a potential prelude to doxing or other forms of harassment.
The internet has allowed for crowdsourcing of this labor- and data-intensive work, dramatically simplifying the task. With hundreds of people working together, thousands are at risk of having their privacy invaded and personal information shared among internet trolls intending to harass.
These developments are troubling to say the least. Individuals should not be targeted by an online mob simply for expressing a political opinion. These lists are especially worrisome given the fact that crowdsourced research can often lead to cases of mistaken identity. For example, users of the website Reddit notoriously falsely accused an individual of being the Boston Marathon bomber.
As disturbing as this and other cases are, they are fortunately still rare. Even with the internet, getting such large lists of individuals and connecting them with personal information remains time- and resource-intensive. In the Refusefacism.org case, it’s likely the information used to start the initial list of signatories was obtained through hacking.
But imagine if rather than relying on a loose collection of hackers and online activists, the government did the job for those who wanted to use the information to cause harm?
In some states, that’s exactly what lawmakers have proposed.
Social welfare groups, including the NAACP, the ACLU, and National Right to Life, all have the right to keep their supporters’ and members’ names private. But politicians in many states, some of whom have received criticism from these groups, are demanding they turn over lists of names, addresses, and sometimes even the employers of their supporters to the government to be posted on a publicly-available website.
It’s not hard to see how an online mob could then use these lists for the same nefarious purposes as those on 4chan did with Refusefascism.org signatories.
After the California ballot proposal to define marriage between a man and a woman passed, a website named www.californiansagainsthate.
The intention here wasn’t to change the mind of those they were contacting. Rather, it was to send a message that supporting causes you believe in would be met with intimidation and harassment if it went against the beliefs of the outraged mob. These actions are intended to silence opposition rather than engage in any kind of constructive conversation.
Our republic functions well only if individuals feel safe and secure in supporting causes they believe in, whether individually at the ballot box, or as a group in civil society. The danger people face of losing their privacy and becoming subject to job loss, threats, or even physical violence for supporting causes is something our society must guard against.
The recent 4chan case shows how the tactic of exposing supporters isn’t confined to one end of the political spectrum, and also shows the risk associated with making public people’s private information.
In today’s heightened political climate, both private citizens and elected leaders must be committed to a culture of privacy to ensure a healthy and safe culture of political discourse. Enemies lists should remain a relic of the past.
Eric Peterson (@IllinoisEric89) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity.
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