The internet has transformed nearly every corner of our lives. Commerce, communication, education, and civic participation have all flourished in the digital age. But while we’ve embraced these advancements, there’s one area where the internet has done lasting damage: privacy.

The erosion of personal privacy has hit politically engaged citizens the hardest. Today, if you make a donation to a nonprofit organization or political campaign, your name, employer, and, most disturbingly, your home address may be instantly published online. If you’re a judge, lawmaker, or simply a registered voter, your private residence might be posted on a government website, searchable by anyone with a few keystrokes and an internet connection.

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This wasn’t the case in the pre-internet era. Yes, transparency laws existed, but there were natural guardrails. Getting personal information from public records required visiting a government office, filling out paperwork, and often paying a fee. Those extra steps created a barrier that kept the information out of the hands of bad actors. The system wasn’t perfect, but it respected the delicate balance between transparency and safety.

That balance is gone.

The last month has shown us what’s at stake in no uncertain terms. In Minnesota, a legislator and her husband were murdered in what investigators believe was a politically motivated attack, and another lawmaker and his wife were also critically injured. These are not isolated incidents. They are grim examples of a culture that dehumanizes people based on their political beliefs, and a digital landscape that makes it far too easy to find and harm them.

It’s time to update laws that were written in an entirely different era. Most federal and state campaign finance laws were drafted in the wake of Watergate, at a time when information was stored in filing cabinets, not uploaded to the internet. These laws must be modernized — first, to reflect the reality that publishing sensitive personal information online creates real-world threats, and second, to ensure they align with recent Supreme Court decisions protecting donor privacy as a matter of First Amendment rights.

The first step is clear: Congress and state legislatures must act now to remove the home addresses of donors, voters, and elected officials from public-facing government websites. This isn’t about secrecy. It’s about safety. The goal isn’t to hide relevant information from journalists or watchdog groups, but to make sure that information doesn’t fall into the hands of someone who wants to do harm.

Second, lawmakers must modernize old laws that expose personal information, such as our Watergate-era campaign finance laws, to reflect the realities of the digital age and protect privacy. Rules written in the 1970s weren’t designed for an era when personal information can be weaponized with a single click.

These reforms would not reduce transparency in the areas where it’s truly needed and would not interfere with First Amendment rights. But a few commonsense safeguards, such as requiring someone to make a formal records request instead of downloading a spreadsheet online, can make all the difference in deterring those with malicious intent.

The internet changed the game. It’s time our laws caught up.

TO PROTECT AI, CONGRESS MUST REGULATE IT

Until then, citizens on all sides of the political spectrum will continue to be put at risk by outdated laws that expose our beliefs, associations, donation histories, and home addresses to any dangerous person who cares to look for them. That’s not transparency. That’s a road map for harassment, and worse.

Let’s fix it.

Heather Lauer is the CEO of People United for Privacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization that defends the First Amendment rights of all people to come together in support of their shared values.