Privacy versus Antidiscrimination

Abstract

Thanks to the adoption of Megan's Laws in all fifty states' and the rise of a large background check industry that caters to employers, landlords, lenders, and other important decisionmakers, information about criminal histories is becoming more accessible than ever before.The same is true of financial information, such as bankruptcy records, credit records, and other evidence of past financial distress.Google and other search engines have made it easier for decisionmakers to locate other information about individuals that may have some bearing on their fitness for a job, an apartment, a loan, or another opportunity. 2For the most part, information privacy scholars have bemoaned these developments.'Privacy critics have responded by suggesting that the availability of this information results in more accurate decisions about hiring and that efforts to use privacy law to block the dissemination of this information will compromise economic efficiency.