STOP THE BULLYING OF GENEALOGICAL SITES

84 People Have Sent 188 Letters and Emails

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Some recent comments: these messages are published with permission of the signer.

SS number thefts are a problem, why not just leave last 4 on the public record even though they are deceased
Public records are for the public. Leave them alone!!!!
If public access to the SSDI, a public record, is denied, individuals who are looking for information about their families will be harmed. Please do not support this legislation.
When the way to steal an identity was to peruse cemeteries for individuals with about the same birth date, was the solution to close cemeteries?
The best way to prevent misuse of Social Security numbers of dead people is to make the information public. The wider dissemination of data, the less likely that it can be hijacked for nefarious purposes
Public records need to remain just that public records.
Please do not limit access to public records by law abiding citizens. If people make illegal use of public records they should be prosecuted -- otherwise leave the majority of os alone!
Please work on solving the real problem. This type of legislation is simply a reaction to the most recent headline and does not prevent ID theft.
Let's face it. If someone wants to do something illegal, they'll find a way to do it. Trying to cut out every possible risk is not feasible. If there is a problem with what prisoners can access in prison, then control what they have access to. Leave the rest of us alone. Cutting off access for the law-abiding genealogists (and others just looking for their immediate family members) isn't going to help anything. There are always other ways to get the info. Most of the people I'm looking for have been dead for decades. What is so screwed up with the social security system that it wouldn't be able to immediately identify a social security number for a dead person from 35 years ago? If that's the problem, FIX IT.
They are not your records to sell. they belong to us.
These are public records and private companies should not keep them for themselves.
I've been searching my family records for a mere two years but if you shut off access to these records, you will undo everything for a lot of people besides me. I realize there are problems with some unvirtuous people who are misusing the SS#s of deceased persons but that shouldn't mean that the rest of us should suffer in our research because of it.
Anyone trying to use the SS# of a deceased person will soon be ratted out. The data I've found for my clients (names of parents) has been very valuable to cracking a few cases. Please lighten up.

http://www.GermanGenealogist.com 1-888-456-7252 (24-hr toll-free US/CANADA)
This is akin to the free phone directories online a few years back. Now to find a phone number on line without paying someone $14.95 a month to join is the norm. Must all of our public information be farmed out for some private individual or group to control and sell access too?
Rediculous! Another Republican attempt to steal money from everyone via the pay to know ethic. This is public information and another proof that we NEED government!
There is no reason to stop public access to the SSDI when used for research reasons. Public Information should be PUBLIC accessable. This is unreasonable and asinine government control. There are other ways to stop the fraud if you THINK about it.
Please keep the SSDI public. It is a valuable research aid.
Please keep Public Records public! Family history may not be important to some of you, but it IS to me and my family! Inmates should not have access to the internet - they are in PRISON! They are not at a country club! If you want to do something MEANINGFUL, then take internet access away from the INMATES!! KEEP THE PUBLIC RECORDS PUBLIC!
Please keep Public Records public! Family history may not be important to some of you, but it IS to me and my family! Inmates should not have access to the internet - they are in PRISON! They are not at a country club! If you want to do something MEANINGFUL, then take internet access away from the INMATES!! KEEP THE PUBLIC RECORDS PUBLIC!
This is Why the calls for Privatization is so pernicious! To take what is and always has been, & always should be "In the Public Domain" & give it over to a business concern, just for profit, smacks in the face of all our Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution!
To privatize the Social Security Death Master Index smacks in the face of all this country stands for.
Keep Public data Public. Stop this push to make money from our "public" records. This will Not stop "identity theft one bit. Since those public numbers Are public, and can not be used ever again, it should be an easy task to signal a red light alert & stop the thief.
DO NOT Give our public records over to profit making concerns. We're nickeled & dimed enough as it is! There is no need or call for this absurd action.
There are other means to keep people in jail from getting these records. PLEASE KEEP PUBLIC RECORDS PUBLIC.
Please do NOT close these records. I use them for my family history. I also do not believe convicts should have access to internet. PLEASE LEAVE PUBLIC RECORDS ALONE! Thank you.
The SSDI is a public record and should remain that way. It is such a valuable resource for family historians. I personally would not have been able to progress nearly as far as I have in my own family history research without it and I know many others in the genealogy community can say the same.
Please keep the SSDI public. It is a valuable research aid and should not be privatized. Thank you, Judith Williams
The SSDI remains a very valuable tool for genealogists to help them trace and find family members. The value in having it remain public far outweighs the risks of a few crimnals who might use this for illegal matters. Those criminals will find another way to get around the system and get the information anyway. Please continue to have public records remain in the public sector. Thank you.
This is a valuable resource for family historians and others. Additionally, it is a public record and should remain so indefinitely!
Public records are the only government most of us use. Why not reduce spending by digitizing other records and the public had access via computer. Besides the social security death record help reduce identity thefts due to the ability to check ss numbers that have been cancelled
This is a valuable and appreciated research tool for those interested in genealogy.

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