As I have often remarked, whenever you “balance” privacy against something else, privacy will lose.
Consider a report today by Sean Murphy of Associated Press that a plan that would better protect the privacy of Oklahomans is encountering resistance:
A plan to restrict the amount of personal information included in public court records is drawing opposition from a diverse group that includes prosecutors, law enforcement, attorneys and the media.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court sought public input on a proposed new rule as part of its plan to develop a statewide court system database that will allow the public to have online access to virtually every document filed in all 77 of the state’s courthouses.
[…]
Of the 39 entities that submitted public comments to the court, nearly all opposed the requirement that home addresses and birth dates be excluded. Under the rule, a birth date would include only the year, and the address would include only a city and state.
Read more on The Republic.