However, there is no clear First Amendment right of access to other government records. The Supreme Court has implied that a constitutional right of informational privacy exists. In interpreting the Freedom of Information Act, the Court has come down strongly in favor of protecting privacy. Other Federal and state statutes governing the disclosure of public records reach a wide variety of results. Use restrictions may offer a middle ground between openness and confidentiality.
Some laws permit limited access to public records or restrict use of the records by the recipients.
Restrictions on publication of information placed in the public domain may be unconstitutional, but other types of restrictions on access or use have been upheld. The legality of use restrictions for public record information is unclear. Resource limitations and increases in the number of requests demand a rethinking of the process. Offices are experimenting with optical scanning, onscreen purging, and online dissemination. Statutory and common law trends may soon require disclosure of database reports in electronic form, when so requested, rather than printouts.