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29 N.C.J. Int'l L. & Com. Reg. 595 (2003-2004)
Big Brother's Little Helpers: How ChoicePoint and Other Commercial Data Brokers Collect and Package Your Data for Law Enforcement

handle is hein.journals/ncjint29 and id is 605 raw text is: Big Brother's Little Helpers: How ChoicePoint and Other Commercial Data Brokers Collect and Package Your Data for Law Enforcement Chris Jay Hoofnagle* ABSTRACT Lawmakers should revisit federal privacy laws to account for private-sector database companies that sell personal information to the government for law enforcement purposes. Commercial data brokers (CDBs) operate websites tailored to law enforcement that enable police to download comprehensive dossiers on almost any adult. The CDBs have artfully dodged privacy laws, leaving a void where individuals' personal information may be sold and accessed without adequate protections, and creating serious risks to privacy and due process. The author argues that CDBs have become arms of the government because they perform law enforcement functions for the police, and thus should be required to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974. Furthermore, the nation should revisit policies surrounding access to public records, as the dossiers increasingly are drawn from public registers. I. Introduction Traditionally, law enforcement officers obtained information by speaking with suspects' neighbors, employers, or friends. They would analyze paper arrest records and crime reports. In order to obtain personal information stored in private databases, they would have to call a variety of different vendors. The shift to a digital environment has brought many changes to law enforcement's collection of information. Now, by visiting a single website, such as www.cpgov.com, law enforcement can . Associate Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values. I wish to thank Woodrow Neal Hartzog, a candidate for LL.M. at The George Washington Law School, for his research and comment on this article.

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