So the Department of Justice decided to create a unified data format when it comes to accessing criminal records. At face-value, it may sound like a good idea, but when you learn more about it, you can’t help but to be a little concerned. With a unified format, the following is likely to occur:

• All of the criminal record flaws will be intervened with this new system, which may cause to even more inaccurate information
• The new system will not allow US citizens to correct the government’s data on them
• Anyone with malicious intent will be able to access any criminal record they want with this new universal and standardized system

I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but to be a little concerned about that…

A U.S. Department of Justice initiative that aims to standardize the data formats and means of accessing criminals records has worried some civil-rights groups, according to media reports.

In a Washington Post article published on Tuesday, two privacy advocates criticized an integrated law enforcement database–called the OneDOJ system in the article–as a problem because it brings together reams of case file data, much of it containing errors, critics claimed. Furthermore, the system does not allow U.S. citizens a way to correct the government’s data on them.[more]

Tags: Privacy