How to keep valuable information out of the wrong hands.
Identity Theft
Court Records and Online Access You Should Know
- States have been putting their court records online which allow the public to examine criminal cases, lawsuits, and divorces. There is a definite balance between protecting privacy concerns and fostering new technology. These public records being online should be resolved carefully and efforts should be made to satisfy privacy and sensitive information being readily available.
- States have been attempting to plan a system where the privacy concerns and the need for matters of public record to be accessible can be balanced. There have been concerns with the public’s access to these records and the risk of putting a battered wife’s address on the Internet or posting uncorroborated child abuse allegations for the Internet community to see. Every state in the nation puts their court records online and open to the public to some degree but they differ in their approach.
- Court records can have unintended consequences. Some courts delete obviously sensitive data like social security numbers, but one could also find bank account numbers as well as a person’s name and addresses which could assist in commission of identity theft. There is also sensitive or embarrassing information that has not been sealed by the court including accusations of battling spouses in a divorce case or the name of biological parents in an adoption that would be public once the court records are available online.
- These privacy concerns could also hold the fear that criminal actions could put people in emergency and dire consequences by this information being available commercially. Spousal abuse and family law cases being available online could put these individuals at risk such as a battered wife or an abused child. The wife’s address, frequently found within court documents, could help a stalker.
- Privacy concerns and the need for the public to have access to public information are important but there is a distinct need to have confidential and sensitive information protected.
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