When Democrats Ignore Democracy...
Can the party win political campaigns without trampling on our right to privacy?
The worst spammer in my email inbox is the Democratic National Committee. The Republican National Committee has graciously (and I do hesitate to use that word for a party run by graceless nincompoops) consented to stop sending me email, even if I actually contribute to a Republican candidate.
But the Democrats: I get email from every candidate for any position in every state in the Union, and they all start by telling me how I have a role to play in saving the country from the Republicans by sending that candidate money. I dutifully unsubscribe from every such email, and the candidates’ campaigns respect my request. But the DNC…
First the DNC collects information directly, from quite a broad range of sources. If you blink, your name, email and other data will be collected by the DNC. “We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information when you make a donation, make a purchase from our online store, participate in any interactive areas or features of the Services, sign up to receive email updates or other notifications (such as text message alerts), use the voter registration (!) or assistance tools available through the Services, fill out a form, apply for a job or an internship, participate in a survey, contest or other promotion, communicate with us via third-party social media sites, or otherwise communicate with us. The types of information we may collect include your name, email address, postal address, phone number, credit card and other payment information, and any other information you choose to provide.” They don’t mention blinking, but I’m sure they’ll get there eventually, maybe with broadly adopted AR glasses....
The DNC also uses a service from a company called NGP VAN, which proudly claims that: “Thousands of Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations rely on NGP VAN's digital, fundraising, and organizing tools every year to manage supporters, raise money, and win elections.”
But, here’s the catch: They won’t remove you from their list, which is why I have to unsubscribe from each individual campaign. This has been bugging me for a while, that the liberal, privacy-oriented, side of the two-party system is the one that refuses to remove you from their database. (They don’t email you directly, they just sell or donate your email to everyone who claims to be running for office as a Democrat.)
So I had to check and read their privacy policy (which I’ve rarely ever actually done for any organization; you?) To wit: “EveryAction does not send marketing communications to Contacts; however, you may receive SMS, e-mail, or other communications sent through our Platforms by our Customers. EveryAction is not responsible for our Customer's communications sent to you. To opt-out of receiving further communications, please follow the "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" protocol contained in the communication or contact the sender (i.e. Customer) of the communication. If you contact EveryAction, we will be unable to address your request, but we may forward your request to the particular Customer under certain circumstances.” They are not responsible for their data and are unable to remove it from the database they make income from. Hmmm….
The DNC also supports independent services like ActBlue, which makes it really easy to donate small amounts to candidates (much more important since the rules changed to enable candidates to debate and get other privileges based on the number of donors, rather than dollars, an admirable change). Their email policy: “We require your email address when you donate so that we can email you a receipt. We may add your email address to our email list where we send email updates and requests for donations.” Gotcha: They add your email back every time you donate! AND they adhere to their policy every time, which is that they add your email back into the master list and start distributing it again. How many times have I manually unsubscribed from the source, only to make the mistake of donating through ActBlue again?
And others… When you start looking around, you find that there is no way to escape the vast, powerful vacuum sucking your data into its maw. These are the same people who are pursuing BigTech for monopolistic behavior, including Amazon for mistreating both its customers and its employees (even though those workers declined to vote in the union). These are the same people who are championing the workers and middle class. These are the people who don’t give a hoot about my privacy.