Newspaper staff jailed protecting web-readers' identities re: corrupt sheriff story

[nashville_brook]

Anyone interested in the freedom/fascism push-me-pull-you going on, might be interested in this latest affront to Constitutional liberty: a corrupt sheriff has teamed up with a butt-monkey prosecutor in an attempt to chill THE READING OF THE NEWS. Usually the chill is placed squarely on the production of journalism (rather than the CONSUMPTION). Now, we have the thought police coming after our IP addresses in the hopes of chilling our reading habits (you out there Prof Plum?). According to the article, the subpoena is an "attempt to research the identity, purchasing habits, and browsing proclivities of our online readership."

At issue is a story run by the Pheonix New Times (an alt-weekly paper...you know, the kind that actually still does "journalism"), that outed the sheriff's hidden commercial real estate investments, and providing an address for the public figure at the bottom of the article as it appeared in the online edition.



From the story:

In a breathtaking abuse of the United States Constitution, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and their increasingly unhinged cat's paw, special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, used the grand jury to subpoena "all documents related to articles and other content published by Phoenix New Times newspaper in print and on the Phoenix New Times website, regarding Sheriff Joe Arpaio from January 1, 2004 to the present." Every note, tape, and record from every story written about Sheriff Arpaio by every reporter over a period of years. (snip)

More alarming still, Arpaio, Thomas, and Wilenchik subpoenaed detailed information on anyone who has looked at the New Times Web site since 2004. Every individual who looked at any story, review, listing, classified, or retail ad over a period of years.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-10-18/news/breathtaking-abuse-of-the-constitution/



here's the wording as it appears in the subpoena:

The subpoena demands: "Any and all documents containing a compilation of aggregate information about the Phoenix New Times Web site created or prepared from January 1, 2004 to the present, including but not limited to :

A) which pages visitors access or visit on the Phoenix New Times website;

B) the total number of visitors to the Phoenix New Times website;

C) information obtained from 'cookies,' including, but not limited to, authentication, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users (site preferences, contents of electronic shopping carts, etc.);

D) the Internet Protocol address of anyone that accesses the Phoenix New Times website from January 1, 2004 to the present;

E) the domain name of anyone that has accessed the Phoenix New Times website from January 1, 2004 to the present;

F) the website a user visited prior to coming to the Phoenix New Times website;

G) the date and time of a visit by a user to the Phoenix New Times website;

H) the type of browser used by each visitor (Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape Navigator, Firefox, etc.) to the Phoenix New Times website; and