In a move aimed at allaying privacy concerns, officials are charging fees for Internet access to British Columbia's public court records, the Times Colonist reports. In January, the provincial government began charging $6 per file for searches of criminal and traffic cases through the court's Web site. Critics believe the move limits public access while proponents point to concerns about use of the searches to "fish" for personal information. Shawn Robins, a spokesman for the BC Ministry of Attorney General, says the point of the fees is to "discourage casual use of the system...This benefits the system and responds to privacy concerns."
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