In Norway this is an open database which gets published annually and anyone can search in it to see what other people make.
It's not a digital wild-west open style though:
1. You have to authenticate using something which identifies you specifically as a citizen.
2. Another caveat is that people who gets looked up will be notified about that, with information about who it was who looked them up. (so it can't be used for direct covert spying)
That said, this system allows for a certain degree of transparency, and makes it easier for journalists, press, researchers etc to dig into issues such as social inequality.
I understand the motivation (even though I fundamentally disagree with it), but I find this rather inconsistent with issues such as 'the right to be forgotten' and other privacy initiatives put out by the EU.
I can see this one being taken to the EU Court of Justice by someone.
It's not a digital wild-west open style though:
1. You have to authenticate using something which identifies you specifically as a citizen.
2. Another caveat is that people who gets looked up will be notified about that, with information about who it was who looked them up. (so it can't be used for direct covert spying)
That said, this system allows for a certain degree of transparency, and makes it easier for journalists, press, researchers etc to dig into issues such as social inequality.