Unfortunately this information was expected to be divulged and collected before the internet was widely used. Policies and infrastructures were not put in place

Unfortunately this information was expected to be divulged and collected before the internet was widely used. Policies and infrastructures were not put in place (or ignored, as I've personally witnessed) to protect this information once it was digitized. At the same time, there should be a real discussion over why so much information is being demanded, why SSN's are being overused as they are, etc.