Digital dodges to avoid openness
by David Armiak In March, The Washington Post reported that UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank sought to move a conversation around the COVID-19 pandemic and students returning to campus in the fall to a private portal used by presidents and chancellors of the 14 Big Ten universities.
“I would be delighted to share information,” Blank responded in an email chain begun last August by University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, “but perhaps we can do this through the Big 10 portal, which will assure confidentiality?”
Blank apologized after the story broke, but did not go so far as to say that she would provide responsive communications through the Big 10 portal to record requesters in the future.
The disturbing trend toward using digital dodges to evade Wisconsin’s Open Records Law extends far beyond the university.
Wisconsin lawmakers who are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council are using the corporate pay-to-play group’s online portal, called ALEC Connect, to exchange important information that used to show up in public records requests.
Through ALEC Connect, lawmakers participate in policy discussions, share research, and access archived materials. My group, the Center for Media and Democracy, has documented that 20 Wisconsin state representatives and eight state senators have ties to ALEC.
Records on ALEC Connect, like the Big 10 portal, have remained secret despite public records requests.
Members of the Republican Attorneys General Association use a similar ploy.
In 2018, the Center for Media and Democracy sued Attorney General Brad Schimel for refusing to turn over records relating to his participation in a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. The Wisconsin Department of Justice reached a settlement with CMD that included an acknowledgement that the open records law applies to documents accessed online.
