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Are
American Identities and Documents a Commodity for Worldwide Trade?
INSTANT SEARCHES traditionally kept in paper form at the courthouse
have become commodities openly traded on the Internet in digital form. Apparently
some companies regard it their right to exploit the digitized public record
without regard for the security or privacy of the individuals whose private
information the records contain. Legislators who wrote the
original open records acts never intended for the private lives of their
constituents to be treated as commodities to be traded in bulk for commercial
gain. The original laws stipulated that the records be made viewable by any
person at the courthouse. County clerks and recorders
take an oath to protect and preserve the public record and I believe most have
done everything in their power to do this. Many saw the introduction of imaging
and computer indexing as a more efficient way for their agencies to perform
their official duties. Computer indexing made it possible to quickly locate the
documents held in the public trust for inspection by any person visiting the
repository. Imaging provides an efficient way of storing the tens of thousands
of documents the county offices were responsible for preserving. Only
after contracts were signed and imaging had begun did many of these custodians
of the public record learn that they could be compelled to release in bulk all
digitized INSTANT SEARCHES. Most state open record or sunshine laws have clauses
that were designed to prevent local government from overcharging for copies. These laws demand that the
cost of copies of public information contained in any format other than paper
“shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to reproducing
the public information, including costs of materials, labor and overhead.” It
takes only a few minutes to copy 10,000 imaged pages onto a 50-cent computer
disk. The unintended result of
these laws was a transfer of control of the public record away from the public
trust to anyone demanding the transfer. Marketing companies, online “people
search” companies, “background” searchers, and employment screening
companies lined up to demand all digitized records and regular updates. The clerks and recorders
learned too late that the records they were sworn to protect and preserve were
no longer under their control. The imaging companies informed them that the
images paid for by the local government were the property of the imaging
companies. They could do with them as they wanted. Few clerks and recorders wanted to admit that in an effort to gain greater control over the documents they had given up all control. One clerk in Florida in a desperate effort to protect his constituents made a failed attempt to have the documents declared copyrighted material of the government. Others sought decisions from the state attorney generals, but there was little that could be done. Once digitized, the public record had become a commodity to be given at cost to anyone who wanted to exploit the information for his or her own purpose. LifeLock is the only Identity Theft Prevention Solution backed by a one-million dollar guarantee! Click here to get a 10% discount.
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