As the old saying goes, “A good beginning is half the job done,” and the Alabama Legislature is off to a good start in protecting individual privacy and free speech.

Now it's time to finish the task.

Last year, the Alabama Legislature unanimously passed the Privacy Act, which protects Alabamians' personal information from misuse or improper disclosure when they support nonprofit organizations. Specifically, it prohibits state agencies from requesting or disclosing personal information about nonprofit members, supporters, or volunteers, except as required by current law. Supporters and opponents of the Second Amendment, abortion, and gambling all enjoy equal protection under this law.

Alabama is one of 17 states that have passed laws to protect the privacy of their residents in recent years, a wave of legislation prompted by scandals in states like California and New York, where officials built massive government databases tracking Americans' donations to nonprofits and faced federal lawsuits, one of which reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

People have the right to support causes they believe in without harassment or intimidation. But when the government monitors the donation choices of every American and collects that information in a central database, this fundamental freedom can quickly be undermined by hacking, leaks, and misuse.

If their donations were exposed, Americans could be harassed in their homes and workplaces simply for supporting a cause that others oppose. Instead of a peaceful exchange of ideas, bitter personal conflict would result. Instead of democracy, chaos would result.

For state governments, storing reams of sensitive data is more hassle than it's worth. All information collected must be protected. But a court case over California's efforts to monitor nonprofit donors revealed that the information the state collected was neither needed nor used by state regulators. Valuable resources spent to collect and protect all the data were wasted.

The Privacy Act prohibits state agencies from arbitrarily building donor databases like California's, but the current law does not address privacy threats. As a result, Alabamians may still face the risk of their sensitive personal information being misused when supporting nonprofits.

New laws are needed to provide lasting protections for privacy and free speech. It is long past time to overhaul Alabama's laws regulating political speech so that all citizens are truly free to support the causes of their choice. State law is filled with broad, obscure and meaningless provisions that threaten to silence nonprofits that speak out on policy issues. Similarly, those same laws threaten the privacy of Alabamians and expose them to potential retaliation for their beliefs.

Protecting the privacy of individuals who support nonprofits also benefits charities in Alabama. Noble causes lose valuable funding when donors are publicly exposed and potentially harassed. Protecting privacy can encourage more Alabamians to get involved.

Privacy is essential to free speech. It prevents vengeful government officials and other powerful individuals from seeking to retaliate against members of organizations who criticize their actions or oppose their policies. Without privacy, nonprofits that advocate for unpopular or opposing beliefs could be harassed and silenced.

Alabama is in many ways the birthplace of donor privacy. The NAACP fought a fierce battle to keep its members' identities secret in the 1950s, culminating in a unanimous Supreme Court decision. More than 65 years later, NAACP v. State of Alabama It sets a groundbreaking legal precedent for donor privacy.

“Free speech was then and is now too important to allow intimidation tactics to silence Americans. Alabama has come a long way since the NAACP first fought for donor privacy. Now it's time to finish the job.”

Heather Lauer is CEO of People United for Privacy, a nonprofit organization that defends the First Amendment right of all Americans, regardless of beliefs, to unite in support of our shared values.