On July 18, 2011, a federal judge ruled that RiseUp.net, a technology collective that provides free communication tools for activists, does not have to release Internet account records that were subpoenaed. “This was a major victory for the rights of those engaged in political action or supporting those who are to freely associate safe from the prying eyes of the government, corporations, and fundamentalist churches and law firms,” said Larry Hildes, one of RiseUp.net’s attorneys.
The case stems from 2008 when several members of Bash Back! disrupted a church service in Lansing, Michigan. The church sued, and subpoenaed RiseUp.net, which hosted the group’s email list. RiseUp.net refused to provide the information. Google was subpoenaed in the same case and surrendered the information immediately without notifying the accountholders.
Attorneys for the church claimed that the RiseUp.net users did not deserve protection because their speech was not “patriotic” free speech.
“To assert that some speech is unpatriotic and therefore unworthy of full First Amendment protection is an affront to this nation’s venerated principles of fostering robust debate,” said National Lawyers Guild Executive Director Heidi Boghosian.