QUESTION
Doesn't this public disclosure of birth dates and mother's maiden name also expose us to phishing and identity theft?
Asked on Jan 06th, 2017 on Personal Injury - Wisconsin
More details to this question:
The nephew, of my husband of 23 years, married a girl. We found a website and found that names of living persons from the clan along with entire birth dates, maiden names, marriages, children and children's birthdates, divorces and names of all parties in divorces were listed. My husband and I, though we didn't give prior permission, found I was listed as being still married to my second ex-husband (isn't this defamation of character by inferring that I'm a bigot) and also shown was my first ex-husband's name. I'm not proud of my train-wreck of a past and I am thoroughly embarrassed and humiliated that my personal information is online. We emailed the intrusive, amateur genealogist, to ask that he redact our names and personal information, but he would not. Didn't he invade our privacy due to public disclosure of private facts; we are living, reasonable persons?
1 ANSWER
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There are very few disclosures that are actionable as such. Some statutes prohibit release of medical information without your consent; others govern what lawyers can disclose. Defamation is a 'disfavored' cause of action: people in America want to believe they can say almost anything about almost anyone in a free country, so they don't like defamation claims. I'm not at all sure that revealing that you were previously married a couple of times is defamation, in particular if it is true. (Truth is almost always a defense to defamation.) You might try seeking an anti-harassment injunction, if you can show that the relative has no legitimate reason for making these disclosures, and his purpose is to harass you.
Answered on Mar 07th, 2017 at 4:59 AM