The DISCLOSE Act: New Media, Old Politics, and the Fight for Public Data The Society for Scholarly Publishing takes a look at the DISCLOSE Act with a blog post that begins: “While the notion that information wants to be free has driven many movements around government-financed data and research, it pays to remember that covert political maneuvering and paying for influence are as old as civilization. And some of these forces don’t want information to be free. When some of the most well-funded corporations and interest groups also have a commercial stake in supporting transparency, you have all the ingredients for a real battle.” DISCLOSE Opponents FEC Implementation Criticisms Unfounded Misinformation about the DISCLOSE Act continues to be circulated by opponents of the bill. One criticism has been that the timetable would be too short for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to implement the legislation. Doing so is not the Herculean task critics maintain. DISCLOSE Act Treats Corporations and Unions Equally Opponents have insistently but unfairly maintained that the DISCLOSE Act favors unions over corporations. In fact, both are treated equally. Ignore the Noise; Focus on the Reality With all the kerfuffle around the DISCLOSE Act, it is important to remember why this measure is necessary in the first place. 8 in 10 Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC which opened up virtually bottomless corporate and union treasury funds for spending on political advertising. Much of the new influx of money is expected to be laundered through shady groups with patriotic names or even trade associations. "Chilling Speech" Argument has No Traction on High Court Despite the histrionics of the special interests in Washington, the core of the DISCLOSE Act is about disclosing the individuals or entities spending huge amounts of money to impact elections. It is not about suppressing free speech. 
|
|