Buckeye v. Big Brother: the fight for donor privacy
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Buckeye Institute v. IRS, a case challenging the IRS's requirement for nonprofits to disclose substantial donor information. This legal challenge comes amid repeated incidents of donor data breaches and leaks by the IRS, raising concerns over privacy and First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed donor privacy protections in a unanimous ruling, citing longstanding precedent on freedom of association.
- ▪The IRS requires 501(c)(3) nonprofits to disclose names and addresses of donors contributing $5,000 or more annually if it exceeds 2% of total contributions.
- ▪Government databases, including those of the IRS and Treasury Department, have been hacked or leaked, exposing sensitive donor information multiple times since 2012.
- ▪In 2014, an IRS employee disclosed unredacted donor information from the National Organization for Marriage, which was then used to target political donors.
- ▪The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in First Choice Women’s Resource Center v. Davenport that demands for donor information burden constitutional rights.
- ▪The Buckeye Institute case draws on precedent from NAACP v. Alabama, where the Court protected donor lists due to risks of harassment in the Jim Crow era.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Sometimes, who you know matters more than what you know. But must you share with the federal government who you know or wish to support financially? On April 29, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Buckeye Institute v. IRS, challenging the IRS’s requirements that certain non-profit organizations disclose personal information about their “substantial donors.” On the very same day, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling defending freedom of association and donor privacy. The court should use Buckeye as an opportunity to further reaffirm the First Amendment’s protection of the right to anonymous association, which has been central to the American experiment.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Washington Examiner.
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