Virginia Won't Stop Publishing People's Social Security Numbers; But Will Fine You For Republishing Them

from the backwards-thinking dept

Tue, Jun 17th 2008 10:58am — Mike Masnick

Apparently, the state of Virginia has been publishing various government documents on its websites that reveal the social security numbers of various residents. Betty "BJ" Ostergren thought this was a problem -- and when the state wouldn't listen to her, she decided to try to get more attention by republishing those documents on her own website. Basically, in an effort to show why it's wrong for Virginia to post people's SSNs, she's reposting them.

So how did the state of Virginia respond? Did it stop posting documents that exposed SSNs? Not at all. Instead, it passed a new law that let it continue to publish documents exposing SSNs, but would fine anyone like Ostergren who reposted that info on their own websites. In other words, instead of fixing the problem, it simply decided to fine the woman who helped highlight the problem. The ACLU and Ostergren are now suing the state to protest this new law. While I don't necessarily agree with Ostergren for republishing the SSNs exposed by the state, it does seem pretty ridiculous for the state to go after her, rather than to stop exposing SSNs.

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Filed Under: aclu, privacy, social security numbers, virginia, whistle blowing

21 Comments

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eze, 17 Jun 2008 @ 11:31am

my first comment
finally a first comment by me
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TriZz, 17 Jun 2008 @ 11:47am

Virginia
I live in Virginia (like 10 miles outside of DC) and this is sucky news. I usually am quite proud of my little state here...but this is bad.

PS: Eze is a douchebag.
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Anonymous of Course, 17 Jun 2008 @ 11:59am

Been there...
When I lived in Newport News Virginia everyone
wanted my SSN. The utilities wanted it before
they turned anything on, cable TV company
wanted it.

Even the Radio Shack Store wanted it for their
mailing list (wny I don't know, when asked they
couldn't provide a coherent explaination.) When
I refused to surrender my SSN they acted as if I
was the only person who had ever objected.

YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE! If you have done nothing
wrong, you have nothing to hide! Virginia is for
lovers... unless you love privacy or liberty.
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Overcast, 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:05pm

Do as I say, not as I do.
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Pennsylvanian, 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:09pm

Re: Virginia
First TriZz I can't see how you could possibly perceive your state as little and being that you live 10 miles outside of DC I can't imagine what you'd possibly be 'quite proud of'.
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will sue Virginia?, 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:16pm

Wonder if the FEDs
I wonder what Virginia would do if you lived out of state or out of country? Hard to sue someone running a blog in outer Mongolia.

That smarmy comment aside, I wonder if Virginia may be running afoul of HIPAA? I did a ERP implementation project for the UT Health Science Center Texas and we had to secure any system that referenced SSN's due to HIPPA regulatory requirements, regardless if the system contained health information.

There is also H.R. 2971, the Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2004: http://www.ssa.gov/legislation/legis_bulletin_080504.html

I'm not certain if that passed.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:16pm

Isn't publishing people's SSN's illegal? Seems there would be some sort of identity fraud liability there.
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Mr. Nosuch, 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:35pm

A new state motto is in order!
May I propose "Viginia is for Identity Thieves" as the new state motto?
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Jason (profile), 17 Jun 2008 @ 12:49pm

Stupid
I'd love to see the State of Virginia try and cite me if I ever decided to re-publish their publicly available information on a web server here in California.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2008 @ 1:07pm

There is some irony in the obligatory pedantic correction, "Virginia isn't a state, it is a commonwealth."
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Jason, 17 Jun 2008 @ 1:48pm

maybe for them...but not for me
As it applies to Virginians, they can be a commonwelt all they want. As it applies to a guy in CA, they're just another state.
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dh, 17 Jun 2008 @ 2:18pm

Re: A new state motto is in order!
Sad, Funny, True!
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R. H., 17 Jun 2008 @ 2:22pm

Re: Been there...
RadioShack asked for your SSN? I've had them ask for my Zip Code for a survey of how far people drove to get there but that's in Michigan. I never give my SSN out unless I'm applying for credit or filling out a government form.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2008 @ 2:23pm

Re:
That was incredibly clever.
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Hoeppner, 17 Jun 2008 @ 2:23pm

Ex post factos... I find it hard to believe that the state fined her.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2008 @ 2:56pm

do as big brother says, not as big brother does

come on this america? very basic prinicple
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who cares, 17 Jun 2008 @ 3:14pm

Ridiculous! People, wake up!
I think those who passed that law should get their SSN publushed. I am sure they won't mind that at all.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2008 @ 4:37pm

I'm not surprised. I moved to Virginia about 5 years ago from NC, and this state has some of the DUMBEST, LAZIEST people I have ever seen.
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citizen greyface, 17 Jun 2008 @ 4:58pm

Re: dumb gov
There is a reason why cousins should not marry cousins and have children.
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malfunct, 18 Jun 2008 @ 2:47pm

The next test
So in order to no "repost" someone needs to add a frame to thier website that displays the state website untouched. I hate that technology confuses otherwise resonably intelligent people so much that they pass really dumb laws as a result.

That said if we quit using the SSN as an ID, which is something that people who fought against the laws early on were "promised" would not happen, then it wouldn't matter if the numbers got posted near as much.
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Carolinian, 20 Jun 2008 @ 9:47pm

I've lived in NC and VA all my life. If you want a flavor of government in both states, the instance you point out is pretty much a bellwether. Stupidity in spades.
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