In the News - RootsWeb pulls CA birth & death database Balancing privacy and the right to know : Debate on online birth records mirrors national issue. With invasions of privacy emerging as a rising concern, officials across the nation are struggling to find a balance between an individual's interest in protecting personal data and the public's right to know. - San Jose Mercury News (CA) December 8, 2001. http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/privacy08.htm CA Gov Davis halts sale of birth and death database The governor's order requires the California Department of Health and Human Services to suspend the sale of its birth and death records database for the next 45 days, while the department reviews what types of personal information can be released under state public-records laws. - San Francisco Chronicle December 6, 2001. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/06/MN159666.DTL Website Shuts Off Birthdate Data RootsWeb.com has closed down a service that made it easy for people to obtain California birth records and mothers' maiden names. KPIX-TV 5 San Francisco December 1, 2001. http://beta.kpix.com/news/local/2001/11/30/Website_Shuts_Off_Birthdate_Data.html ROOTSWEB Decision - At 01:21 PM 12/2/2001 -0800, Don wrote: >Richard: Due to a recent hue & cry from Senator Speier (D-San Mateo), the CA >Birth Index has been removed from Rootsweb. Senator Speier is also trying to >limit access by the public to these records. Here is a copy of an article I >recently received: > >PRIVACY CONCERNS SPUR POLICY CHANGE >BY DION NISSENBAUM >Mercury News Sacramento Bureau > >SACRAMENTO -- One of the nation's largest online genealogy companies decided >Thursday to remove from its Web site personal information about people born >in California -- but only for people who ask. (NOTE: they were swamped with >requests and have completely removed the database from our access.) > >The company, RootsWeb. com, took the action after it was thrown into the >spotlight Wednesday by California lawmakers who demonstrated how easy it is >to use the Web site to glean critical information, such as date of birth and >mother's maiden name, that can serve as building blocks for identity theft. > >The move, announced late in the day, may satisfy some of the many >Californians who called the company Thursday to complain about the >availability of the personal information. But it is unlikely to quell the >broader concerns because experience suggests that only a relatively small >number of people will take the initiative to request that RootsWeb.com delete >their data. > >And even if the company removed all 24 million California birth records >posted on its site, that would not address the fundamental problem still >facing lawmakers: Selling the information was -- and is -- legal.