After a two year study into the privacy implications of making
federal court documents available to members of the public on-line
through a single web based system known as PACER (Public Access to
Court Electronic Records), the judicial panel endorsed limited
access to court documents on the web.
It recommends that any personal identifiers such as social
security or bank account numbers be modified by, for example, using
only the last four digits.
The panel also states that it does not support making documents
relating to criminal cases available on-line, as the benefits “were
outweighed by the safety and law enforcement risks such access
would create”.
The report has been welcomed by US privacy groups and will be
considered when the full Judicial Conference of the US meets on
11th September.
Recently in the UK, a controversial proposal to publish on the
internet the names of people involved in employment tribunals was
abandoned amid privacy concerns and fears that it would encourage
blacklisting within industry.
