Ars Technica is reporting that a federal judge has ruled to allow social security numbers to be posted on public websites, citing the First Amendment and freedom of speech in the ruling.

This decision comes about as a result of privacy advocate Betty Ostergren’s efforts to keep Social Security numbers off of the web. Quoting from the page:

For several years, Virginia has been making the real estate records available for a nominal fee from a commonwealth website. Ostergren, wanting to give public officials a taste of their own medicine, began reproducing the records of legislators and court clerks—Social Security numbers and all—on her website.

[SNIP]

[The Virginia] legislature changed the law to prohibit private parties from distributing individuals’ Social Security numbers even if they are simply reposting the very same records available from the government’s own website. Ostergren viewed this last clause as censorship, and with the help of the Virginia ACLU, she sued to block its enforcement against her.

This ruling evinces the importance of privacy and free speech in current internet case law. As the courts continue to rule about what can be posted online (see, for example, Viacom v. Google), internet privacy concerns will continue to grow.

My recommendation?  Be very careful of who you share your personal data with, and make sure you have a service that monitors where your data appears on the web.  MyPrivacy scans the internet for you each month.

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