We have had this in Norway for decades already and it does not pop up as a problem the way you describe it. Part of that is because in addition to focus on tran

We have had this in Norway for decades already and it does not pop up as a problem the way you describe it. Part of that is because in addition to focus on transparency, we also promote privacy. Yes that may seem like an oxymoron, but here is a way to give you an idea: If I ask for you credit history or how much you earn or make in taxes, then you will be informed by the government in letter form, exactly what information I was given about you, as well as my name and address. That makes it a lot less attractive to snoop around in people's data. Hence in Norway it is mainly news organizations that do these kinds of things in relation to writing articles. Otherwise you make yourself look foolish. Also it is a bit odd that Americans should be so concerned with privacy as you privacy laws are rather weak to begin with. E.g. unlike Norway you can administer drug tests to any employee in the US or do criminal background checks on all new hires. That would be highly illegal in Norway. Only business which can prove to the government that such checks are vital to the type of the business they do would be allowed to do such checks. E.g. working with children. Basically the US focus its "privacy" laws on hiding information important to the wealthy, while those at the bottom of the latter have most of their sensitive information easily exposed.