We think there will be a lot of debate about what really is public information. Rubel pointed out that, in the private sector, consumers have a choice about revealing personal information, but in government transactions, personal information is often required. This, he says, creates a unique situation with a new set of problems. In addition, privacy policies and the definition of which records are public differ from state to state. This issue has emerged and descended so quickly on government, it's going to take a thoughtful approach to sort it out.
Privacy is neither a simple issue nor a guaranteed right.
In some sense, personal information was available long ago. Getting someone's Social Security number, for example, is as simple as accessing voter registration records. Political campaigns have been purchasing this information from vendors for decades. For equally as long, states have been selling DMV data. What they may not realize is that companies are not purchasing this information directly from the state agency but through an approved vendor under contract with the state.