For millions of people, details from an arrest—even a mistaken one—live on after being sold to data brokers. And the state profits.
In April 2018, Adnan (a pseudonym) was wrongfully arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on the basis of an incorrect arrest warrant. A brief period in jail led to the criminal court judge dismissing the incident and moving to have Adnan’s arrest record expunged. A few days later, Adnan began receiving mysterious text messages from several “reputation management” companies that promised to help him get his mug shot removed from the internet. A few days after that, he received an email from a company that specializes in “arrest-related content removal.” Confused, Adnan contacted the local and state police departments to ensure that his expungement order had been received from the courts. It had, but Adnan’s arrest data was already in the hands of data brokers.
Every three seconds, a person is arrested in the United States, mostly for low-level incidents like drug possession or disorderly conduct. After that person is booked, they may or may not be charged with a crime by prosecutors, and even if they are charged, the case can end in a dismissal. This should be the end of the story.
But for millions of people arrested each year, the details of their arrest or criminal charge live on in digital spaces as their record is aggregated and sold to data brokers. Criminal records—which can include electronic criminal court dockets, public jail and prison rosters, and sex offender registries—are enormously useful for the data brokerage industry because they are cheap and replete with detailed personal information, including full names, aliases, birth dates, home addresses, and photographs of arrestees. The brokers then combine this data with consumer data to create profiles used for both advertising and risk prediction.
The details of the arrest—even if the person was not eventually charged—can end up being used for background screening reports in the employment and housing sectors, as internet fodder, or as part of risk prediction models that can determine a person’s credit or insurance eligibility.
A former arrestee also becomes subject to predatory businesses, such as reputation management and mugs hot takedown services or high-interest loans, that target people who have been through the legal system. An arrestee’s home address and photograph are available to a broad set of organizations that buy access to personal data, including private debt collectors, facial recognition software companies, police departments in other jurisdictions, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Criminal records are also extremely valuable to the amorphous “people search” industry, where companies buy, scrape, and aggregate public court records that are then sold in reports for curious consumers searching for background information. These services are commonly advertised in search results for a person’s name, peppering Google with clickbait that tantalizes you to learn more about your new coworker or date.
All this is possible because data brokerage is a virtually unregulated practice in the US. Data brokers and people-search websites operate outside federal regulations such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and in fact are covered by well-meaning transparency laws. For example, because these people-search websites are aggregators of public records—and not technically furnishing “official” background checks—they are not held to any accuracy or data integrity standards, and it can be nearly impossible for a person to get these reports removed or fixed, even though they’re cemented to their internet search results.
Featured Video
In this way, the private data industry profits directly from the punitive arm of the state and the discretionary decisions made by police and prosecutors.
Read the full article (requires free signup)
That’s your good old computer technology at work. Guess branded has another meaning in this computer game of checks and balances or who is guilty of a techno crime. Guess baking cookies can be a crime depending what you put in it. Talk about cookie trackers. So is much of this registry going to hell in a handbag or is true justice as transparent as the person inducing it in this blind guide justice.
Law enforcement are counselors for good not evil. Ask yourself who is being wicked. Who is coming up with these schemes.Who is trying to control who or who instigates or intimidates who in much of this registry? Defending justice is one thing but compounding justice is another or how transparent does it get in this troublesome world view.
I couldn’t get Experian to remove the SO alert from their app – they say it’s publicly available information so it’s ok for them to display the information in their app, DOB, Name, address, picture, etc. I’m going to write to CFPB to see what they could do. Not sure if other 2 major Credit Bureaus do the same
The trend is not limited to criminal charges because all types of personal information data had been commoditized. This includes information not meant to be public like medical records, Social Security numbers, Driver’s license numbers, Credit card numbers and other sensitive info data. All proof the very second the people sold out the sovereignty of sex offenders to the database they sold the entire population to the data base as well. Similarly LEO uses information provided by registration forms to give themselves and private entities a convenient target ID to search for.
Interesting! So how transparent does it get. Sure some plead guilty and sure some took a plea deal, even took those sex classes and at the end they wanted ones signature that they knew they were talking to a teenager to make it official. I never signed my signature on the form. Yes my sister wanted me to with her justification but the other lady, when I glanced over to her told me no. Doesn’t get any transparent than that.
That’s to be considered the tipping point in wanting you to sign your life away to try and justify themselves. This transparency is a type of third party give away. So who’s selling who’s sovereignity out with this registry transparency which is more of a witch hunt type of sell out with a sexual flavoring or coating attached to this con game. Who’s discerning who’s spirit? Remember Jesus is for justice and truth. Man’s justice is a bit demented. Are many courts today undermining true justice or trying to be transparent.
You know while many of these advocates want to fight for one’s rights, whether it criminal or other one wonders’ who is “naked” today with this transparency. whether it be Florida Man tossing an alligator into Wendy’s drive thru or this past no nonsense riot that happened in DC.
Sure the blacks are pissed off in this involvement, the whites, and other races, so where is the transparency of true justice or is it in some “naked” law. So how “naked” is everyone or is the wisdom of this world compounding everyone. While Janice, Chance and the team out there are doing good in many endeavors of legal issues this sex registry is a bit naked and transparent in and of itself.
One wonders why dope is legal today in my state when I got busted for it 40 yrs ago or more. This sex registry ordeal is a bit much for those involved in an internet transparent way or even a hands on he said she said ordeal, and yes they are going to believe that woman or whoever is trying to betray or induce on another. Even some christian principals are helpful but much of this registry is a con game in this transparent justice system.
Guess the wisdom of the world is foolish to mankind or we are all naked in some ways. Hey I don’t even work because of this. Sure I had two jobs, was a demo person, set up in stores promoting products such as computer printer products, store staples, etc, took instore inventory among other things so I wasn’t transparent but when law and other use transpancy for gain its time to say wait a minute.
Here is a video on Vice News’s YouTube channel about “Death Threats Causing a Mass Exodus Of Election Officials”
Maybe these officials targeted can be an asset to changing these transparency laws. How does a person find out elected officials phone numbers, home addresses, etc to an extent of forcing them to leave office and even possibly moving?
LPH and many of you all, whats right and whats wrong with this registry system? Whether computer induced or man made induced. Afflicting on others whether in a transparent way or other way is wrong. So where is the code of ethics in a sexual type of inducement. So who’s holding who accountable in much of this registry.
Their is a time for truth and their is a time for justice or who wants to be back stabbed?. A time for justice and a time to defend justice. Who presumes or entices in this manner for truth Justice or is law and true justice gone by the wayside when authorities use the sword of Justice in the wrong way transparency or not. Even riots are the wrong way to go about true Justice.
Citizens of Europe Union countries have a “Right to be Forgotten”. And we, the citizens of the great 🤔 and exceptional America 😒, are the cash cows milked by corporate greed with no recourse but whining and self-pity. Disgusting and unbelievable. 😒