Comment on Privacy of Personal Information in Government Records
public policy behind the Open Public Records Act is that government
records should be readily accessible to citizens. Limitations on
the right of access should generally be construed in favor of the
public's right of access. Further, a public agency has a responsibility
to safeguard a citizen's personal information from public access
when disclosure of that information would violate a citizen's reasonable
expectation of privacy.
recently, government records were difficult to access. But in the
age of databases and Internet access, government records can be
easily obtained and searched from almost anywhere. Records that
were once scattered about are now consolidated by government's use
of databases, some of which are Internet accessible.
details of an individual's life, activities, and personal characteristics
can be found throughout the files of public agencies. While public
agencies have a responsibility to safeguard a citizen's personal
information, it must be balanced to ensure that the work of these
agencies is open to those with a genuine need for governmental information.
consider the following question:
How do you think New Jersey should strike a balance between the
recognized need for openness in government and concerns for personal
privacy and security?
answer this question, the Privacy Study Commission is seeking feedback
and to what extent home addresses and home telephone numbers of
citizens should be made publicly available by public agencies?
Whether and to what extent any personal information of citizens
should be made publicly available by public agencies?