Personal Information About Democrats Donors Made Public
| Personal Information About Democrats Donors Made Public | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | Personal Data About Small-Donors Supporting Democratic Candidates Made Public |
| Location | United States |
| Date | July 2020 |
| Solove Harm | Increased Accessibility |
| Information | Identifying, Transactional, Public Life, Professional |
| Threat Actors | ActBlue, Candidates using ActBlue for raising money |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | Users of ActBlue |
| High Risk Groups | Voters |
| Tangible Harms | |
Website ActBlue listed on the internet personal information of those who made small donations to the democratic candidates through the platform.
Description
On July 31, 2020, the names, addresses, occupations and employers of at least 2.3 million people who contributed money to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates were listed on the internet for all to see.
The culprits were not Russian hackers or disgruntled tech workers, but the Democratic presidential candidates and the federal government.
Leading (and not so leading) Democratic presidential candidates use ActBlue, an organization that helps Democrats in local, state and federal races raise money with a state-of-the-art online fund-raising infrastructure.
Each time an individual contributes to a presidential candidate using its site, ActBlue collects the donor’s information and then turns around and reports it to the Federal Election Commission — which then puts this information on the internet. Increased Accessibility
Under federal law, candidates must publicly disclose the personal information of only those donors who give them more than $200 in an election cycle. Viewed in this light, ActBlue’s most recent filing, from July 31, makes no sense, as many of the disclosed donors had given tiny amounts well below this threshold.
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/opinion/democrats-donor-data.html