Open Records are Essential
for Protecting Privacy
¨Free expression and privacy are both essential for democracy ¨Without open government, there is no privacy ¨Open records can shed light on government without disclosing personal information about individuals
¨
Totalitarian governments permit neither free expression nor privacy.
Federal government is the biggest purchaser of commercial databases.
Government should be accountable for the way it uses personal information.
Government must collect PII but need not disclose it.

United States Dep’t of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press,
489 U.S. 749 (1989)
United States Dep’t of Defense v. Fair Labor Relations Authority,
510 U.S. 487 (1994)