[Broken_Hippo]

You already have this to an extent - how many people touch your medical records? I can look up people's past addresses online, it isn't all that private - which is fine for most folks, but bad for folks getting stalked.

Heck, I worked at a landline phone company 25 years ago and they used the last 4 numbers of a social security number to verify everyone. Think about this every time you talk to a utility: That underpaid worker definitely sees your information. Plus addresses and names and so on.

But more realistically, there is no real reason that the person viewing the footage needs any of that information. It might be helpful to know that the person is having a mental health crisis, sure, and it might be helpful to know if the person is a minor. But they don't need to know the names of folks nor what the diagnosis is. Treat it like health information: Give nothing but the necessary information. And if society can trust an underpaid, stressed call center employee to have a bunch of this information, I'm pretty sure we can trust these underpaid, stressed folks too.

[PH95VuimJjqBqy]

I don't think you understand the risks you're talking about.

For example, people have been blackmailed over psychiatric records from their childhood.

[Broken_Hippo]

Anyone determined can already do that. A quick google search pulled up examples - most of the first page results were folks breaking into mental health facilities data. Which makes sense: Why would you sift through loads of mundane police footage when you can just look at the care center's records?

The risk would remain about the same. Most folks aren't gonna do this, and those that want to already can.

And we could lessen it by being more accepting and forgiving and not making things like mental health struggles a source of shame.

[PH95VuimJjqBqy]

Do you know why the thieves broke into the mental health facilities?

because many of them put patient records in physical safes. Do you know why they don't put them online?

yeah, exactly.

What you've basically said is "it's ok because someone could break into a police station to get that material anyway!".

Or to apply this in another way.

I should be ok with other men sleeping with my wife because she might get raped anyway.

it's such a ridiculous line of thought. The fact that someone somewhere is willing to enter into criminality to do it doesn't imply we shouldn't endeavor to prevent it.