Government has gone overboard disclosing personal information about citizens. Two recent cases involving disclosure of personal information filed with the government for “public records” show two different approaches to fighting back.
In Doe v. Reed, Washington Secretary of State, 130 S. Ct. 2811 (2010), the plaintiffs sought the U.S. Supreme Court’s protection against disclosure of residential addresses. In Ostergren v. Cuccinelli, nos. 09-1723, 09-1796 (4th Cir. July 26, 2010), a privacy advocate used self-help to give government officials a “vested interest” in protecting the confidentiality of Social Security numbers.
