> The reality is that once your data is in a database, you never know who reads it and when. Its like the joke, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is arou

> The reality is that once your data is in a database, you never know who reads it and when. Its like the joke, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?". That's shit design, not in anyway axiomatic. There should be robust access controls (you can only access personal information related to a specific thing you're working on that references that person in question), strong audit logging and related frequent auditing, and hefty penalties. So that there's minimal risk of abuse, and when it does happen, it's easy to catch and prosecute.