Written and edited by Chris Staples
By now, most readers of Virginia CopBlock have heard the story about the injunction against Nate Cox, ‘Mo Karnage’, the RVA Wingnut Collective, and filebin.net. Yes, the Richmond Police Department actually issued an injunction against an internet domain. Yes, internet domains are inanimate objects incapable of uploading or transmitting data without human action. Filebin.net is a tool of the digital age, no different from a phone, computer word processor, or blog.
RPD’s injunction demonstrates the lengths that governments will go to prevent transparency. With their injunction, RPD is frantically trying to hold back the free flow of information made possible by the digital age. This injunction demonstrates how governments fear the loss of the mainstream media’s monopoly on the news. New media venues like YouTube and podcasts, online news sources like examiner.com and American Daily Herald, and blogging tools like WordPress and BlogSpot destroy the status quo by allowing anyone, anywhere to become reporters.
Reporters need access to write their stories. Finding sources and doing real research takes time. Attending press conferences and going to lunch with government officials is quicker and easier than developing sources and running actual investigations. In the past, local police could control their public image by cozying up to the five or size news outlets in an area. Activist blogs like CopBlock and CopWatch break the stranglehold on investigative journalism.
The injunction represents a deliberate act to suppress a free press. RPD officials understand that independent journalists don’t have the funds to pay for a drawn-out court battle. RPD leaders hope to create enough pain for Virginia CopBlock and the RVA Wingnut Collective to prevent these groups from continuing in their activism. Suppressing these groups would make it harder for future independent journalists to work.
The injunction is a gauntlet thrown in the path of independent journalists. The injunction has a chilling effect, deterring other activists and journalists from demanding government transparency. The injunction is not a matter of the specific files released, nor is it a matter of confidentiality. Ultimately, the injunction is about the need for governments to maintain their status quo of secrecy.
