Anfinson: Unreasonable data requests could narrow public access

David Brauer, the media guy at MinnPost, dredged through our piece this morning on Sean Niemic’s maybe-partisan data requests from DFL constitutional offices and came out with some good insight from Minneapolis media attorney Mark Anfinson:

Anfinson tells Brauer that Data Practice Act requests don’t distinguish between journalists and partisan activists. All citizens have equal access (as University of Minnesota media ethics and law Professor Jane Kirtley also told us).

“One has to be very careful about being judgmental” about who’s requesting information. “If you let ideology affect things, you taint the whole system of public access.”

But Anfinson also tells Brauer there’s a danger that unreasonable data requests could create case law that narrows everyone’s access to these public documents.

“Anfinson notes the state Department of Administration has issued non-binding advisory opinions restricting public data in “exceptional cases where the Data Practices Act has been used as a weapon, not a tool” — for example, when those requests put an “extreme burden” on an office’s ability to function.”

That comment could possibly apply to partisan organizations trying to make political hay out of an office’s difficulties compiling requests that are overly broad or expensive, as this morning’s story hinted at.