Public records privacy statement

NOTICE: We may sell your sensitive personal data.

Do not sell or share my personal information and limit the use of my sensitive personal information

This Public Records Privacy Statement supplements our Privacy Statement and provides information about our personal information collection and processing practices related to our Risk, Fraud, and Compliance products (we call these our “Public Records Products”), including PeopleMap on Westlaw, Public Records on Westlaw, Company Investigator, Court Express, Batch Services, and CLEAR. California residents should also review our California Statement.

How Does Thomson Reuters Obtain Personal Information for its Public Records Products?

Thomson Reuters collects the personal information described in our Privacy Statement from various third-party business partners (including private data providers and data brokers), publicly available sources (including consumer reporting agencies and government entities), and other generally available sources (such as third party websites that publish data). The personal information is typically provided by these sources “AS IS” and the nature of the data and the collection processes limit our ability to independently verify or validate the accuracy and completeness of the personal information and the personal information is subject to change at any time without notice.

Does Thomson Reuters Sell Public Records Data to the General Public?

Our Public Records Products are not licensed to everyone in the general public, but are intended to be licensed and made available only to authorized businesses and government agencies for legally permissible uses, in which all use must comply with applicable laws, such as the U.S. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. §§6801 et seq.) (“GLBA”) and the U.S. Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. §§2721 et seq.) (“DPPA”). Under some local privacy laws, the licensing of our Public Records Products may constitute a “sale” of some personal information that is included in our Public Records Products to these authorized businesses and government agency customers, which also means that, under some local data broker laws, we may be deemed a data broker.

What Rights Do I Have Over My Data?

In certain circumstances, your local privacy laws may give you rights over your personal information. Importantly, these rights do not apply to everyone, they are not guaranteed, and there are several exceptions where we may not have an obligation to fulfill your request. Please consult your local data protection laws to determine what rights may be available to you and when access to these rights is limited.

You can contact us through our Public Records Data Subject Portal to submit a request to: 

• access a copy of your personal information; however, please note that we are only able to provide a copy of the records referring unambiguously to you.
• correct your personal information; however, if the error is with the source of the data, we will either direct you back to the originating source of the data to correct inaccuracies or notify you as to the documentation that you may need to submit in order for the source to review your request, and please be aware that these inquiries are managed by the source of the data (not Thomson Reuters) who has sole discretion on whether it will honor your request and as to what types of documentation it may require to address your request.
• delete your personal information; however, unless required by law, we typically only honor requests to suppress personal information from our Public Records Products if you: (1) are a judge, public official, or member of law enforcement, as substantiated either by copies of credentials or letters from supervisors verifying your position in law enforcement or public office; (2) provide evidence that the availability of your personal information in our Public Records Products exposes you to risk of physical harm, as substantiated by police reports or court orders regarding potential physical harm to you; or (3) are a victim of identity theft, as substantiated by a police report or letters from credit reporting companies regarding identity theft. Importantly, please note that, where we honor a request to delete certain data, we only delete the personal information contained in our Public Records Products and do not have the ability to delete your personal information from the original source. We are unable to delete your personal information to the extent it is contained in (1) databases comprised of information made available by a governmental agency (such as court dockets, real estate records, liens & judgments, lawsuits, death records, motor vehicle registration, and so on) or (2) information provided through one of our live gateways. 
• Residents of certain U.S. states have the right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of certain personal information by clicking this “DO NOT SELL OR SHARE MY PERSONAL INFORMATION AND LIMIT THE USE OF MY SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION” link, emailing us at privacy.issues@thomsonreuters.com, or calling us at 1-866-633-7656, or contacting us through our Data Subject Rights Portal. 

California residents may have the rights as described in our California Statement.

Please note we require you to verify your identity. You may appeal an adverse decision on your requests by responding to our email containing our decision; and you also have the right to lodge a complaint to your local regulator if you are not satisfied with our responses to your requests or how we manage your personal information. However, we encourage you to first contact us so we can address your concerns directly.

What happens if I change my personal information or later consent to the sharing of my personal information?

Our Public Records Products are refreshed and updated regularly. If you change your personal information (such as changing your name, address, government identifiers, and so on) or use slight variations after a correction or deletion request has been granted, you will likely reappear in our Public Records Products and will need to resubmit your request. Additionally, if you later work with one of the sources of data and they obtain the right from you to share your personal information with us for use in our Public Records Products, then your information will likely reappear in our Public Records Products, and you will need to resubmit your request.

Who should I contact if I have questions?

For any concerns or questions regarding our PR or data subject requests related to our Public Records Products, you may email us at westlaw.privacypolicy@thomsonreuters.com or you can write us as follows: Thomson Reuters – Westlaw and CLEAR Public Records, ATTN: Personal Information Request, 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN 55123.

IMPORTANT FCRA DISCLAIMER: THOMSON REUTERS IS NOT A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY BY VIRTUE OF ITS PUBLIC RECORDS PRODUCTS, AND NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH ANY OF ITS PUBLIC RECORDS PRODUCTS CONSTITUTES A “CONSUMER REPORT”, AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN THE FEDERAL FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (15 U.S.C.A. §§1681 ET SEQ) (“FCRA”).

This Public Records Privacy Statement was last updated on April 8, 2024.