The decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to lock access to public employees’ birthdays may not seem like much, but it’s a huge loss for media outlets across the state.
Having dates-of-birth makes it easier for journalists to produce accurate, verified news stories because public employees — such as city workers and state government officials — can be easily identified. It also gives journalists the opportunity to create databases that save reporters time and organizations money, when the identity of a particular employee is only a few mouse clicks away.
Not having these dates-of-birth also makes it difficult for a journalist to generate interesting data for the public. Media outlets could determine the average age of a public employee and report how that number may affect the lives of Oklahomans across the state. Are Oklahomans working in the public sector at older ages? If that statistic is released, it will probably only be released by the state government, which may have an investment in keeping the number lower. Then, when journalists want to verify that the information provided by the government is accurate, we won’t have access.
The court made its ruling claiming the privacy of public employees trumped our right to an easy method for identification. This sets a dangerous precedent. Next, the court could take away the media’s ability to access voter dates-of-birth as well. Since there is no sense in granting state employees more privacy protections than the general public, how long until this valuable source of information is ruled off limits as well?
There might have been some sense in this decision if public employees might suffer some harm from having their dates-of-birth made available, but this is not the case.
The threat of identity theft, which had been urged by those who wished to withhold the dates-of-birth, is illusory. Law enforcement and other experts do not see dates-of-birth as a factor in identity theft, according to The Oklahoman. Social security numbers and credit card information are far more valuable.
The purpose of the press is to inform the public. The court’s decision to withhold identifying information such as dates-of-birth poses no threat to the public and makes our jobs harder. The public doesn’t need protection from the press, but they do need protection from the government. As our resources to produce quality, accurate journalism dwindle, our ability to adequately inform the public so they can make informed decisions shrinks too.
Reader poll
Should public employees' dates-of-birth be accessible by the public?
- Yes
- No
3 total votes.
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bashorney1 11 months ago
I think that sort of information is available from out-of-state "people finder" type websites for a few bucks.
alaskaairborne 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Reporters can find people's birthdates using such search engines. The issue here is matching it with certain public records. That's why journalists want and need access to that information.
A good example of a situation might be some of the "tips" that anonymous readers posted about me when I ran for student body president. They basically ran a search on OSCN and put up all of the hits that came up with my name. Of course, the problem is that the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area has 1.2 million people and there are several people with the same name. So, most of the hits had nothing to do with me.
The Oklahoma Daily found at least four or five other people using the search engines you mention. So, they didn't run anything. That may not always matter to the people digging up dirt to discredit people, but reporters generally try to get the story right.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen the birthdates released so that it would have been apparent that some people were full of it. However, you take that one example and you apply it on a statewide scale -- with figures a lot more important than student body president candidates. And, you should be able to see why it's important for the press to be able to match things up.
You'd also be surprised how often potential employers run OSCN searches and make hiring decisions based on the hits they get without birthdate verification. I know a hotel that used to do that with its desk clerks as a cheap alternative to a full background check.