Public Records VS. Right to Privacy

KRON 4 ^ | February 19, 2003

[new cruelty]

BAY AREA (KRON) -- When you're born, get married or divorced, when file your taxes, or buy a house and when you die, there is always an official record. And in most cases, those records are public.

That means just about anyone can access the information. That's really nothing new. But in the old days, that meant going down to city hall. Now, in this age of the Internet, your personal information may be just a keystroke away, available to anyone who's curious about you. And some companies are harvesting the information and selling it online to whoever is willing to pay for it.

Anybirthday.com is one example of a site that's purchased bulk public records. It starts with an innocent concept: plug in a name to find out that person's birthdate and zip code. But once you do that, it gives you the option to search for even more personal details, for a fee.

"It might give you pause as to whether or not that information should be that available," says Deborah Pierce, executive director of San Francisco-based Privacyactivism.org.

Anybirthday claims its database has over 135 million records, and that the majority of Americans over the age of 21 are listed. That information, it says, is all gleaned from public records.

"It's very shocking that all of a sudden you find out that someone knows where your house is and how much you paid for it, what taxes you're paying," says Pierce.

To be fair, certain records are deemed public to ensure fair access to information. But with identity theft soaring, privacy advocates say it's time for a change.

"We need to redefine what a public document is," says State Senator Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo). "We need to redefine what is absolutely essential for the public to have access to and what should be, in fact, confidential."

Senator Speier is introducing a proposal to keep certain information out of public records.

"When you purchase a home, often times there will be documents that are sent to the courthouse that contain your social security information. We should require that social security numbers should be extracted from that," she says.

Speier's proposed legislation would also provide more protection regarding divorce records, which list the splitting couple's finances, and property records which disclose names and addresses.

What's disturbing, she says, is that databases of convicted sex offenders - established under Megan's Law - offer more privacy than a lot of government-kept records.

"Under Megan's Law, you can only access the individual and their zip code. You cannot access their address," she explains. "So here is a child molester, convicted, who is back in our community, who has greater protection than you or I do, who happens to own a home in this community."

The proposed law would restrict certain record searches by name, and require certain personal or financial information to be excluded or redacted from records that are public.

You may recall, DMV records used to be public until actress Rebecca Shaefer was killed by a stalker who got information about her through the DMV. Now, Speier says, it's time to protect other public records that may also put consumers in jeopardy.

"For that information to be available so that someone can then know all the elements of your home and be able to stalk you, is not, I believe, appropriate and that's what I'm going to try to address," she says.

Until the law does provide more protection, the fact is your information may be out there. But there are ways you can protect yourself.

First: do an online search for your name to see where you're listed.

"You might just do a Google search on your name or do an advanced search looking for birthday sites or high school sites," suggests Pierce. "Go to the sites and opt yourself out if you can."

When you do opt-out, read the instructions carefully. Some forms may be case sensitive, or require you to type your name exactly as it's listed - including initials or typos.

Also, check to see if your opt-out is permanent, or if you need to do it again in a year, or two, or more.

"You kind of have to be vigilant that way because information is being gathered and shared about you all the time," Pierce says.

Also, find out if the website is passing your information around.

"The habit we need to get into is looking for the privacy policy, looking for these opt-out opportunities ahead of time," advises Joanne McNabb, with the state Office of Privacy Protection.

McNabb says key words consumers should look for in privacy policies include "sharing," "affiliate" or "corporate family."

"They'll say `We don't share this with anybody. Oh, except our corporate family and our affiliates.'" says McNabb. "If they do share with their affiliates, you want to know who they are and what their privacy policy is."

If you find a site that doesn't allow you to opt-out, or doesn't list basic privacy information, report it to the Office of Privacy Protection, Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.

Now, although there has been some worry that telling the public about where records are available, also means telling thieves where or how to steal identities. However, privacy advocates we've talked to say they've decided that it's better to be proactive, and to let consumers know these sites exist, and give them a chance to opt-out. After all, if you don't know your information is out there, you can't take steps to protect yourself.

[Lysander]

Our local rag resently published all the local teacher's personal wages, on the grounds that it is public information anyway.

[new cruelty]

that was nice of them.