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Some State Online UCC Filings Include Social Security Numbers

Press release: “Attorney General Jim Petro said today he believes Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has a legal duty to take immediate steps to protect the privacy of citizens whose Social Security numbers have been made public on routine business forms posted on his office’s Web site….The confidentiality of citizens’ Social Security numbers is guarded as well under many public offices’ individual policies, including the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office, which redacts the numbers from forms they display or provide to the public, Petro said.”

  • Link to Attorney General Opinion 2005-047
  • Link to Kentucky Secretary of State Business Services Web Page
  • Link to Ohio Supreme Court decision
  • USATODAY.com: “It is common for the websites of the USA’s secretaries of state to contain personal information, including Social Security numbers (SSNs) and home addresses, in business statements. Besides Ohio, the data is available in New York, Florida and at least seven other states, say privacy experts who provided USA TODAY with links to public websites.”
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