untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
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maintained by such entities as state, local, and even the US government. Most
of this type of data simply cannot be removed from the public record.
If you think we can stop companies like ZabaSearch, think again. As attorney Anita
Ramasastry, points out, "[I]n a recent court case, the First Amendment has been
held to allow publication even when it predictably will threaten the safety ofparticular
individuals. Threats themselves can be made criminal, consistent with the First
Amendment. But when information is not itself a threat-but does pose one-courts
have recently tended to allow the information to be published, even on the
Internet.,,226 [emphasis added] Ramasastry goes on to say that, in her opinion, sites
providing this detailed kind of personal information should be requlated. However, at
present only medical records are afforded the kind of legal protection many people
would like to see extended to other types of information, e.g., bankruptcy records,
divorce data, real estate transactions. As of now, this information is fair game, our
privacy is under assault, and the balance of power is on the side of the First
Amendment: "...when constitutions do protect privacy, they typically protect it against
invasion by the government-not by other citizens. Meanwhile on the other side of
the balance, the First Amendment protects a person's right to speak and publish
information, absent a compelling governmental interest in silence. So while privacy
rights don't help those who find themselves the subject of digital dossiers, free
speech rights do help the dossler-rnakers.r"" This is a difficult issue and one the
Founders could hardly have imagined because the concepts of things like
computers, the Internet, and online identity theft were simply unimaginable for them.
Can You Opt Out of Online Directories?
Many people are interested in (in some cases, desperate to) get their personal
information out of the many online directories that now brazenly sport that data. The
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse offers a very useful webpage on this subject, including
a handy chart of the major "data vendors" who do and who do not offer opt out
provisions. The prospect of getting your personal information out of the many
databases is daunting and some of the procedures are highly dubious. For example,
to get your data out of PeopleFinders, you are required to provide the following
information:
Complete Social Security number, First name, Last name, Middle initial, Aliases
and A.K.A.'s, Complete current address, Complete former addresses going back
226 Anita Ramasastry, "Can We Stop ZabaSearch-and Similar Personal Information Search
Engines?: When Data Democratization Verges on Privacy Invasion," FindLaw.com, 12 May 2005,
(14 November 2006).
227 Ramasastry.
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