Comments on: your SS number: is it secure?

By: David Miller

David Miller — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:36:46 +0000

Thanks for the update.

By: David Troyer

David Troyer — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:03:28 +0000

ACLU: Court Upholds Privacy Advocate’s Right to Post Public Records on Website

By: Barnabas

Barnabas — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:36:07 +0000

Betty “BJ” Ostergren has made it personal. When you see that people info is available it’s easy to for get that we are the people. So way to bust some egss, balls, egos or whatever it is that needs busted to get some of our privacy back.

By: JGFitzgerald

JGFitzgerald — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:51:16 +0000

Redact originally meant edit. It’s since become governmentese, especially in Freedom of Information cases, for running a black magic marker over the most interesting parts of a document before it’s released to the public.

By: Scott P. Rogers

Scott P. Rogers — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:47:02 +0000

I have a subscription to uslandrecords.com where I can access the recorded court documents online (for real estate purposes). I was a bit confused to see this message when I performed a search a few days ago... "We are currently in the process of redacting Social Security Numbers from the online records. Searches in the land records will be limited to the dates that have already been redacted." I guess I was confused because when I looked up "redact" on dictionary.com I learned that it means: 1. to put into suitable literary form; revise; edit. 2. to draw up or frame (a statement, proclamation, etc.). So --- I suppose this means that they are getting rid of the social security numbers on the recorded documents in the Rockingham County Circuit Court? Seems like a good step, though apparently this may not be happening in other localities.

By: David Miller

David Miller — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:05:18 +0000

Brooke

Good points. I’d be pissed but sometime you’ve gotta break some eggs, or in this case some political balls.

By: JGFitzgerald

JGFitzgerald — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:00:33 +0000

Enforcing the law is the best way to deal with this … but only if they grandfather Ostergren and arrest some clerks. Civil (and pure) libertarians should quiver at the idea of an individual being charged with a crime for something a bureaucrat does as part of his job, not out of necessity, but out of bad practices and habits created in a less technological time.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:43:33 +0000

True enough, David, but I look at it this way…if I went to this site and found my information out there, displayed as she has? While I’d be irritated at the agency that let her have access to that info and wanting to see what could be done about it (no doubt!) I’d be WAY more upset at her for putting my information out there for anyone to see, even without having to go through the legwork of requesting that info as a public record. In fact, I’d probably be contacting her directly and taking measures to have it taken down.

By: David Miller

David Miller — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:20:21 +0000

It has done a pretty good job of exposing the problem to the light of day, regardless of approach.