KY officials need to make public comment safer in our brave new world of Zoom meetings

My name is Amber. I was born in Louisville and have spent most of my life in Lexington. I hold a business degree from the University of Louisville. I’m very passionate about equity in both cities for all citizens. I’ve noticed something disturbing with an easy fix that would make getting involved in public discourse more accessible and safe to all citizens.

I do not think it is ethical or appropriate that citizens have to give so much personal information when trying to contact the Mayor’s Office, Governor’s Office, or participating in Zoom Council meetings. Currently your full name, city, state, address, zip code, phone number, and email is required to leave a comment to local and state officials. I understand their reasoning behind this is to weed out non-citizens, “trolls” and mining demographic information, but asking for this personal information is dangerous and not an effective gate-keeping measure.

On June 28, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson read concerned citizens’ NAMES and ADDRESSES during a COVID-19 briefing video. This is extremely troubling and will make other concerned citizens think twice before making their voices heard. This both infringes on our rights as Americans and the participating in the Democratic Process. I cannot stress enough how serious this is, nor can I stress my lack of confidence that something like this wouldn’t happen in Kentucky.

There are many citizens who don’t feel safe expressing their concerns or criticizing the police because they fear they will be targeted by the police or online/IRL vigilantes. With so much technology at their disposal, it makes citizens extremely vulnerable. So what ends up happening in public discourse is only the most extreme views are heard rather than a consensus of the majority opinion.

For example, on June 17, Lexington held a Special Council Meeting for Police Accountability that was inundated with overt and covert racism and threats. There were trolls who threatened bombing the protests and yelled racial slurs. Then there were the internalized racist remarks from older white women saying things like “these people [peaceful protesters] need to be put in their place.”

I did not feel safe to call in because they required your full name and address to speak. I thought using fake information or saying I wasn’t comfortable giving it would immediately flag me as a troll and discredit my contribution. I know I am not the only citizen that felt this way. Therefore, asking for personal information does not work as a gate-keeping tactic for trolls and it puts people at risk.

So I urge you to rethink your processes for public discourse moving forward in the modern technological era. I think a good solution would be to not require citizens use their full name, address, or phone number. Even asking the district is putting people at risk because all someone motivated enough to find you has to do is type in your last name and narrow down your zip code from your district in Google.

Here is my proposed solution: Only require FIRST NAME and CITY to address government officials or participate in public discourse. Additional information is OPTIONAL.

I’d like to stress how easy it would be to make this change and what a positive PR move it would be for cities in Kentucky. It would show our officials are vigilant and proactive in protecting the information of its citizens and their right to be heard by their leaders. It would be a stark contrast to administrations like in St. Louis and a show of good faith to Kentuckians who often feel forgotten by their leaders.

Amber Fuller is a Lexington resident with degrees in business, art history, and communication from the University of Louisville.