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We’re Building a New Central Resource for Public Data

56 points by danso 7y ago

skybrian 7y ago
You can search here: https://publicaccountability.org/datasets/home/ https://publicaccountability.org/datasets/home/ I searched on my last name and found an old address and a few of my relatives in there. It's based on public info, but I guess it will make doxxing a little easier. Do they get a free pass because they're not a tech company?
- danso 7y ago
  Get a free pass for what?
  - skybrian 7y ago
    I meant something like, why aren't there people condemning the folks who made this website, like they do for other things that reduce people's privacy?
    - danso 7y ago
      My guess is that it's not as well-known? The same could be said for the FEC site in general, or the various state election sites that publish voter registration info. And also, it's not particularly impactful compared to what already exists. For example, I can much more easily find much more personal info about myself by googling my name (even without using the `site:insert-favorite-people-directory.here.com` search operator). Google aside, I'd agree that most people hate the various people-directory sites, which means that they might also hate another aggregator, like the Public Accountability site in question. But I'd still argue that the features/scope of this site is much different and significantly limited compared to a people-directory site. The former presents a list of records retrieved via a full-text search for "John Doe". The latter purports to link data from a variety of sources to a given identity, ostensibly using a unique personal identifier (e.g. social security number). It's much different to have a list of "records containing the string 'John Doe'" versus a list of "John Doe" entries comprising of personal history (like age, past addresses, and family members).
      - skybrian 7y ago
        Yes, that's true for "John Doe," but for someone with a unique name, the search would return the same results whether you use their name or social security number.
        danso 7y ago
        And such a person is already trivially researchable via Google, not to mention people-directory sites.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
  No, they get a free pass because of the law. Any privacy regulation ever has some clause to the effect of "unless required by law" or "except for purposes set out in APPENDIX 25/c: open government data". It might even be more general, as in "except for a legitimate purpose". And the government itself providing such data is usually taken as a rather big clue regarding its legitimacy, almost tautologically so. Datasets released by governments do tend to be fairly limit when it comes to personal data, though. There are some well-known datasets (political donors, public company officers, etc.). But when, for example, answering FOIA request, personal data of private citizens is almost always redacted. There's just one stream of public data that I would take issue with, and that actually happens to be the worst misuse of data I can think of, including whatever Facebook is up to this week: the release of arrest records and mugshots. I would consider that practice to be unethical even if it came with a time limit and only included convicted offenders. As it is, with even wrongful arrests having a good chance to be your top Google hit for decades, it's pure cruelty and indecency.
- akudha 7y ago
  Someone posted this here long time ago - http://njparcels.com/ http://njparcels.com/ I believe the entire site is built on public data. This has info like voters, broadband, sales record etc. On one hand, it is impressive to build a site like this, from a software/data perspective. On the other, I'd be annoyed if my name, age and voter details are shown like this. But then, credit score companies leak much, much more sensitive data with zero consequences. Suddenly public property records seem like a much smaller problem
EGreg 7y ago
Just how much information is really known about people contributing to a political campaign? They now have your name, email and address? Why are you not going to get tons of unsolicited mail and email based on how you donated? * Individual Contributions (Contributions by Individuals) The individual contributions file contains each contribution from an individual to a federal committee. It includes the ID number of the committee receiving the contribution, the name, city, state, zip code, and place of business of the contributor along with the date and amount of the contribution. NOTE: this file can be very large file. A comma delimited header file is available on this file's data dictionary page. * That is from the FEC. And this hack reveals how much is known even about voting — isn’t that supposed to be secret?? https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2018/10/16/millions-of-voter-records-are-for-sale-on-hacker-forums/amp/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2018/10/16/millions-...
- danso 7y ago
  Campaign contributions, and who makes them, are not secret. The excerpt you posted about "Individual Contributions" refers only to what the FEC distributes via its "Bulk Data" downloads page. The FEC itself posts the contribution form for every contribution. For example, on the "Individual contributions" search page [0], click on the right-arrow icon (in the right most column) of any given entry. Then click the "Open original image" button to see the donor's contribution form. The Forbes link you posted refers to voter registration data. This data is not secret (some states post it online themselves), nor does it contain who voters voted for. [0] https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2020 https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?...
  - EGreg 7y ago
    I imagine if they registered as a Democrat then we know they are a Democrat and most likely who they voted for in the general election. We also know their address and email
    - danso 7y ago
      Yes, your party affiliation correlated to what party you end up voting for. But this has been deemed public information, ever since the government got into the business of administering party primaries.

56 points by danso 7y ago

You can search here: https://publicaccountability.org/datasets/home/ https://publicaccountability.org/datasets/home/ I searched on my last name and found an old address and a few of my relatives in there. It's based on public info, but I guess it will make doxxing a little easier. Do they get a free pass because they're not a tech company?

danso 7y ago
Get a free pass for what?
- skybrian 7y ago
  I meant something like, why aren't there people condemning the folks who made this website, like they do for other things that reduce people's privacy?
  - danso 7y ago
    My guess is that it's not as well-known? The same could be said for the FEC site in general, or the various state election sites that publish voter registration info. And also, it's not particularly impactful compared to what already exists. For example, I can much more easily find much more personal info about myself by googling my name (even without using the `site:insert-favorite-people-directory.here.com` search operator). Google aside, I'd agree that most people hate the various people-directory sites, which means that they might also hate another aggregator, like the Public Accountability site in question. But I'd still argue that the features/scope of this site is much different and significantly limited compared to a people-directory site. The former presents a list of records retrieved via a full-text search for "John Doe". The latter purports to link data from a variety of sources to a given identity, ostensibly using a unique personal identifier (e.g. social security number). It's much different to have a list of "records containing the string 'John Doe'" versus a list of "John Doe" entries comprising of personal history (like age, past addresses, and family members).
    - skybrian 7y ago
      Yes, that's true for "John Doe," but for someone with a unique name, the search would return the same results whether you use their name or social security number.
      - danso 7y ago
        And such a person is already trivially researchable via Google, not to mention people-directory sites.
IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
No, they get a free pass because of the law. Any privacy regulation ever has some clause to the effect of "unless required by law" or "except for purposes set out in APPENDIX 25/c: open government data". It might even be more general, as in "except for a legitimate purpose". And the government itself providing such data is usually taken as a rather big clue regarding its legitimacy, almost tautologically so. Datasets released by governments do tend to be fairly limit when it comes to personal data, though. There are some well-known datasets (political donors, public company officers, etc.). But when, for example, answering FOIA request, personal data of private citizens is almost always redacted. There's just one stream of public data that I would take issue with, and that actually happens to be the worst misuse of data I can think of, including whatever Facebook is up to this week: the release of arrest records and mugshots. I would consider that practice to be unethical even if it came with a time limit and only included convicted offenders. As it is, with even wrongful arrests having a good chance to be your top Google hit for decades, it's pure cruelty and indecency.
akudha 7y ago
Someone posted this here long time ago - http://njparcels.com/ http://njparcels.com/ I believe the entire site is built on public data. This has info like voters, broadband, sales record etc. On one hand, it is impressive to build a site like this, from a software/data perspective. On the other, I'd be annoyed if my name, age and voter details are shown like this. But then, credit score companies leak much, much more sensitive data with zero consequences. Suddenly public property records seem like a much smaller problem

EGreg 7y ago

Just how much information is really known about people contributing to a political campaign? They now have your name, email and address? Why are you not going to get tons of unsolicited mail and email based on how you donated? * Individual Contributions (Contributions by Individuals) The individual contributions file contains each contribution from an individual to a federal committee. It includes the ID number of the committee receiving the contribution, the name, city, state, zip code, and place of business of the contributor along with the date and amount of the contribution. NOTE: this file can be very large file. A comma delimited header file is available on this file's data dictionary page. * That is from the FEC. And this hack reveals how much is known even about voting — isn’t that supposed to be secret?? https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2018/10/16/millions-of-voter-records-are-for-sale-on-hacker-forums/amp/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2018/10/16/millions-...

danso 7y ago
Campaign contributions, and who makes them, are not secret. The excerpt you posted about "Individual Contributions" refers only to what the FEC distributes via its "Bulk Data" downloads page. The FEC itself posts the contribution form for every contribution. For example, on the "Individual contributions" search page [0], click on the right-arrow icon (in the right most column) of any given entry. Then click the "Open original image" button to see the donor's contribution form. The Forbes link you posted refers to voter registration data. This data is not secret (some states post it online themselves), nor does it contain who voters voted for. [0] https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?two_year_transaction_period=2020 https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?...
- EGreg 7y ago
  I imagine if they registered as a Democrat then we know they are a Democrat and most likely who they voted for in the general election. We also know their address and email
  - danso 7y ago
    Yes, your party affiliation correlated to what party you end up voting for. But this has been deemed public information, ever since the government got into the business of administering party primaries.