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Deputy Secretary of State says data subscription policy is being developed; security and data‑broker use remain open questions
Summary
Lauren Hibbert told the committee the office is developing policy to provide certain license and business data by subscription or API, cited existing compliance downloads (e.g., to UVM Health Network), and said security protocols and pricing are still being worked out; she also warned bots that scrape public business data currently strain systems.
At an Appropriations hearing, Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert described a developing policy to provide certain data by subscription or API and answered questions about what data would be available and how the office would protect sensitive information.
“We are in the process of developing that policy,” Hibbert said, describing authorization received in the last legislative session to sell some data to organizations the office already serves. She gave the example that “the UVM health network receives a daily download of all of our licences” so hospitals can confirm whether staff are currently licensed.
Hibbert distinguished between business services data — which she described as publicly available — and professional regulation data, which she said contains nonpublic elements. She told members that business‑services scraping “bots” currently impose a heavy load on their systems and that an API/subscription model could provide faster, more consistent access while limiting automated scraping.
On whether data brokers would be allowed to buy bulk business addresses, Hibbert said those records can be downloaded now and that the office was still deciding whether a subscription model would permit brokers to purchase bulk lists.
Committee members asked about security, volume, pricing and who would be eligible to subscribe. Hibbert said the office is developing security protocols and pricing that account for frequency and volume but did not provide final policy details at the hearing.
Hibbert also advised individuals concerned about business‑address privacy that a post‑office box is an available option for small/home businesses; she did not announce any immediate changes to what is publicly downloadable.
Next steps: the office will continue developing the policy and security protocols and report to the Joint Fiscal Committee as required by the budget language under consideration.
