Question
Thank you so much for providing this service! I am attempting to learn all I can regarding laws prohibiting or allowing the selling/profiting from public information.
Specifically I am interested in the legality of websites, apps, companies, etc. charging members of the public a fee for access to information about sex offenders identical to the information already provided by national, state, and local registries.
There are several different types of companies doing this: some charge a monthly fee and offer “services” such as mapping, notification alerts, etc. whenever an offender moves in or out of a certain area .
AlertID is the service utilized by many local governments and is integrated into their registry websites, but AlertID also apparently offers these services directly to the public.
Not surprisingly these companies almost always use scare tactics “Find out before it’s too late! “Protect your children!” Keep your family safe!” into thinking that they somehow need these independent services even though the information is already publicly available.
Answer
As a general matter, there are no restrictions on what a private entity may do with records and information that it collects from a public entity.
If the private entity wants to repackage the information, and then charge for that information either by collecting fees directly from consumers or through advertising, there would not seem to be any restrictions on the entity’s right to do so.
Often private entities are able to compile publicly available information in a way that is more useful to consumers than the form the information was in originally; additionally, any revenues collected may cover the entity’s time and efforts expended in gathering and re-publishing the information.
Although some users might not be aware that the information is available free of charge on a government-sponsored website, others might prefer the privately run website due to ease of use.
At the end of the day, it seems that the marketplace will decide which services survive.
Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.
Asked & Answered posts should not be relied on as legal advice, and FAC makes no guarantees about their completeness or accuracy. All posts carry a date of publication that readers should take note of in assessing their usefulness, given that laws and interpretations of them may change over time. Posts predating Jan. 1, 2023, that discuss the California Public Records Act may contain statute numbers no longer in use. Please see this page for a table showing how the California Public Records Act has been renumbered.