At issue is the controversial practice by many county governments of posting public records containing confidential personal information on the Internet without first sensitive data.

The list of documents posted on county Web sites as part of the public record includes copies of property and tax records, motor vehicle information, and court files. In some cases, documents relating to military discharges, family court decisions, juvenile court records, probate law documents and death certificates are also available. Many of these documents include Social Security and driver's license numbers, bank account details and sometimes even protected health information.

Outraged privacy advocates have argued that putting the records online has greatly broadened access to the information and heightened the risk of misuse. They claim that the trend has made county Web sites a veritable treasure trove of information for identity thieves and other fraudsters.

County clerks such as Dianne Wilson of Fort Bend County, however, argue that much of the information has been freely available for public purchase and inspection at county offices for a very long time. "What we have always held is that we are the repository of the public record," Wilson said. "The public has the right to view and copy and purchase any public record. They have free access to it."

County clerks can't reject a document just because it contains confidential information, she said. Neither are they allowed under law to alter a public record. "We cannot tell you what to put in a document and what not to," she said. "We don't read the documents; we don't know if there is an [Social Security number] in it or not. We are not the ones that put it in there."