SearchDay - The Truth About Big Brother Databases - 3 October 2002

What information appears in commercial, or publicly accessible, databases about you? Any transaction or event that generates a public record may find its way online. If you purchase a home, for example, information about the sale, including the sale price, amount mortgaged, and the mortgagor, becomes public record.

Likewise, if you file for bankruptcy, own a business, obtain a professional license, or become involved in a lawsuit, then information about you resides in public records. Criminal convictions and, in some states, marriage, divorce, death, boat or vehicle ownership, vehicle accidents, applications for fishing or hunting licenses, and voter registration also produce public records.

Increasingly, public records reside in commercial or government-sponsored databases, but restrictions concerning their access and use make illegal some of the claims you read in the news. Major federal laws governing the sale or distribution of personal information include the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Drivers Privacy Protection Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/02/sd1003-big-brother.html