Iowa Stops Access to Online Public Land Record Documents

The governing board of the Iowa Land Records Website chose to restrict all access to records maintained on the site after a public backlash led to concerns by lawmakers and residents alike. Last week, the site indicated that it would ignore the request of Governor Chet Culver to block access to the records because many contained sensitive information like Social Security numbers.

Yet, officials indicated that its previous actions had failed to reduce fears of identity theft and privacy concerns and, thus, suspending access to the records was necessary.

Visitors to the site discover a statement from the operators indicating that “…until further notice all document images are restricted and cannot be accessed through this Website.” Phil Dunshee, one of the site’s project managers, said in a press release that access to the records would be suspended indefinitely.

“Recorders sincerely regret the disruptive impact this will have on people in the real estate industry,” Dunshee said. “It’s really the last place they wanted to go, but at this point, I don’t really think they have any further choice.”

Despite providing useful information to real estate professionals, many expressed support for the actions undertaken by the site’s operators.

“As mortgage lenders, we are seeing more and more identity theft on credit reports, so it’s imperative that Social Security numbers be redacted from those old documents,” said Christy Allison, the president of Iowa Mortgage Association, in an interview with The Des Moines Register.

Culver and Michael Maurro, the secretary of state, both had their Social Security numbers listed in documents that were maintained on the Website. After learning this, Culver asked the site to remove his information and block access to documents containing people’s private information last week. The site attempted to block access to thousands of records that contained sensitive information after receiving his request, but apparently failed to adequately do so. Thus, the operators decided to shutdown all access this week.