Virginia Watchdog provokes GA’s ire
By Reed Williams
Media General News Service
Mar 26, 2008

ACLU weighs in on Hanover woman’s side

For many years, Betty “BJ” Ostergren was a tenacious watchdog over Hanover County officials, showing up at every meeting and demanding open and responsible government.

These days, Ostergren is opposing the release of what she says is too much information.

She says some public records available online in Virginia — especially land records — contain Social Security numbers and other personal information that threaten privacy rights and create targets for identity thieves.

“I am an open-government kind of gal. I believe in having the courthouse door open,” the Hanover resident says. “But the thing with these records — that really burns me up.”

Ostergren began posting Social Security numbers of state lawmakers on her Web site to demonstrate the availability of the information and embarrass officials into taking action.

This month, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine approved a law that prohibits the dissemination of Social Security information taken from public Web sites. Ostergren says the bill is an attack on her that fails to fix the larger problem.

Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said it’s a violation of free speech for the government to put documents online for public use, then limit how people use that information.

He says the ACLU is considering a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.

The Internet has made getting many public documents easier, which can be a good thing, says Jennifer Perkins, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. But sensitive information such as Social Security numbers should not be included, she said.
The Internet allows people who would be unwilling to hunt for information at the courthouse to stay home and access extensive databases anytime they want.

“If you want to see these records, get off of your hind end and drive down to the courthouse,”
Ostergren said. “People don’t want to go to the courthouse because they’re seen. They don’t want to do their dirty work where they’ll be seen.”
Virginia law requires court clerks to make land records available online by July 1. People who register and pay a fee can access such documents online — Ostergren calls it pay per view.

Included among land records that must be posted online are divorce decrees, powers of attorney and other documents that can contain Social Security numbers, said Hanover Circuit Court Clerk Frank D. Hargrove Jr.

Last year, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring the redaction of Social Security numbers from online records, provided funds were appropriated for the task.

But the money has not been made available. Hargrove said he plans to post land records online by July, as required, but not until he has Social Security numbers redacted. He said he plans to use the state Technology Trust Fund to complete the task.

Hargrove had planned to start posting land records online in 2002 but backed off after Ostergren launched a groundswell of community opposition.

“We decided not to go forwardbecause we couldn’t discount the security concerns,” he said.

Ostergren sees it as one of her many victories.

“It took me three weeks, and I stopped Hanover from going online,” she says.

Reed Williams is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

(0) Comments • Email This Article