Hello advisory group,

We are making an addition to the WMF's guidelines for Policy and Political Advocacy. The purpose is to describe the WMF's approach to joining advocacy letters on topics that are consistent with our previous discussions on this list, such as advocating for the public domain, privacy protections, and free speech. In some circumstances, it can be difficult to share an advocacy letter publicly before it is finalized. Additionally, letters are often finalized on a short time frame, since there is a usually a deadline for when it will be effective, and this can pose some difficulty for prior consultation on the exact language. Even with this addition to our guidelines, we still aim to share letters on this list.

You can see the addition here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_Community_Advocacy/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline#Limited_position_letter

If you have any thoughts on these guidelines, you may share them on the talk page:  https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Legal_and_Community_Advocacy/Foundation_Policy_and_Political_Association_Guideline

Thanks,
Stephen

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Stephen LaPorte
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation

NOTICE: As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer.