Voter disclosure laws, such as California's Political Reform Act of 1974, have made the names of donors to charitable and political causes public for years. However, the Internet makes this information easier to find than ever before, and websites such as the one discussed in this New York Times article, are creating controversy by flaunting donor information.

The article discusses eightmaps.com, a website listing the names, approximate locations, and employers of people who donated money to fund Proposition 8, the ballot measure to stop single-sex couples from marrying in California. With a few clicks, you can find the measure's backers in any ZIP code. Some of the donors have received threats and hatemail, and some of their businesses have been boycotted.

This is an issue that I have mixed feelings about. Although I understand that transparency is both necessary in the political system and required by law, there are some serious privacy issues here. However, information made public through sunshine laws is available for anyone to post on their blog, or, in this case, interactive website. There is some discussion of raising the minimum donation that must be reported, protecting the identity of donors of small amounts. There have also been suggested that state websites providing donor information request downloaders' indentity. I don't forsee huge changes coming to transparency law any time soon, however.