Is People Search Legal? A Guide to International Privacy Laws & Compliance 

Look, I’m going to start with the truth. Three years ago, I nearly destroyed a client’s business because I didn’t understand international people search laws. And honestly? I thought I was pretty smart about this stuff.

The client was a mid-sized background check company expanding from the US into Europe. They’d been running people searches domestically for eight years without a single legal problem. Standard business model – scrape public records, aggregate the data, charge companies for background reports. Nothing fancy, nothing shady.

So when they asked me to help them expand internationally, I figured it was just a matter of translating their website and finding European data sources. How different could it be, right?

Dead wrong.

Within six months of launching in the EU, they got hit with a GDPR compliance investigation that could have resulted in fines up to 4% of their global revenue – which would have been $4.2 million. Four point two million dollars. For a company that was making maybe $800K profit per year.

The violation? They were collecting and processing personal data on EU citizens without proper legal basis, storing it indefinitely without consent, and had zero processes for handling data deletion requests. Basically everything they’d been doing legally in the US for years was completely illegal in Europe.

Why “It’s Public Information” Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

Here’s the mistake everyone makes, including me: thinking that if information is publicly available somewhere, you can use it however you want.

That’s not how this works. Not anywhere.

I learned this lesson when I had a client who got sued for scraping LinkedIn profiles. “But it’s all public information!” they kept saying. “People chose to make their profiles public!”

The court didn’t care. Just because someone makes their information visible doesn’t give you unlimited rights to collect, store, and redistribute it. It’s like saying you can take photos of everyone walking down a public street and then sell those photos to whoever wants them. Technically the people are “in public,” but that doesn’t make it legal.

Different countries have completely different philosophies about what “public” means and what you can do with public information. A prime example of this is Veripages. A perfect people search company that follows all US regulations.  In the US, we tend to have a pretty open approach – if it’s public, it’s fair game with some exceptions. 

In Europe? They’ve decided that individuals should have much more control over their personal information, even if it’s technically public.

This isn’t just academic legal theory. This affects real people making real decisions about people search every day.

I had a small business owner last month who wanted to research potential customers before meetings. He’d been using various people search sites to look up names, addresses, and business histories. Worked great until he tried to expand his consulting business to Germany and discovered that the way he’d been researching prospects could violate German data protection laws.

The scary part? The laws don’t just apply to German companies. They apply to anyone collecting data on German citizens, even if you’re sitting in Ohio.

The Countries Where You Can Get in Real Trouble (And How Much It’ll Cost You)

After getting burned once, I’ve made it my business to understand exactly where the legal landmines are buried. Here’s what you need to know about the places that’ll actually prosecute you for people search violations:

Europe: Where Privacy Laws Have Teeth

Monthly potential fine: Up to 4% of global revenue or €20 million, whichever is higher

GDPR isn’t just some bureaucratic annoyance – it’s a legal framework that can destroy your business if you ignore it. And it applies to you even if you’ve never set foot in Europe, as long as you’re processing data on EU citizens.

The key thing most people don’t understand about GDPR: it’s not just about getting consent. It’s about having a legal basis for processing data at all. There are six legal bases under GDPR, and “I found it online” isn’t one of them.

I’ve seen companies spend $50,000+ just to audit their data practices for GDPR compliance. The ones that wait until they get investigated? They’re looking at legal fees that start around $200,000 and go up from there.

Real example: A US people search company got fined €8.8 million in 2022 for GDPR violations. Their mistake? They kept processing EU citizen data after being told to stop, and they had no system for handling data deletion requests.

United States: The Patchwork Problem

Federal fines: Up to $1,000 per violation under FCRA State fines: Varies widely, some have no cap

The US is tricky because there’s no single federal law governing people search. Instead, you’ve got a patchwork of federal and state laws that can contradict each other.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the big one if you’re providing information for employment, credit, or housing decisions. Violate FCRA and you’re looking at $1,000 per violation, plus whatever damages the affected person can prove.

But here’s where it gets messy – states like California have their own laws (CCPA) that can override federal protections. Illinois has its weird biometric privacy law that can hit you with $5,000 per violation. Texas has specific laws about online privacy that nobody talks about until you violate them.

I helped one client navigate a lawsuit where they were hit with both FCRA violations AND state privacy law violations for the same incident. The legal fees alone were $85,000, and they eventually settled for $340,000.

Asia-Pacific: The Wild West (With Some Notable Exceptions)

Fines: Extremely variable, from $0 to millions depending on the country

This region is all over the map. Australia has reasonably serious privacy laws – you can get fined up to $2.22 million for serious violations. Japan’s privacy laws are getting stricter every year. South Korea will absolutely prosecute you for privacy violations.

But then you’ve got countries where there are basically no enforceable privacy laws, and others where the laws exist but enforcement is spotty.

The problem is figuring out which is which before you get in trouble. I had a client assume that because they could operate freely in one Southeast Asian country, the same rules applied to the neighboring country. They were wrong. Very wrong. Different legal systems, different enforcement priorities, different penalties.

The Real-World Consequences Nobody Talks About

It’s Not Just Fines – It’s Everything Else

The fines get all the headlines, but they’re often not the worst part of getting caught violating people search laws.

I had a client who got hit with a GDPR investigation. The fine was €50,000 – significant but not business-ending. But during the 18-month investigation process, they couldn’t bid on any EU contracts, they lost three major clients who got nervous about compliance, and their insurance rates tripled.

The total cost of that “small” GDPR violation? Over $400,000 in lost business and additional expenses.

Criminal Charges Are Real

Yeah, you can actually go to jail for privacy violations in some countries. Not kidding.

In Germany, serious violations of data protection laws can result in prison sentences up to three years. The UK has criminal penalties for some privacy violations. Even in the US, certain types of data misuse can result in criminal charges under computer fraud laws.

I’ve never had a client face criminal charges, but I’ve had clients whose lawyers warned them it was a possibility. That’s a conversation that changes how seriously you take compliance real fast.

The Reputation Damage Is Forever

Here’s what really keeps me up at night: once you get labeled as a company that doesn’t respect privacy, that reputation follows you forever.

I had a client who had a data breach in 2019. Small breach, they handled it properly, paid the fines, fixed their systems. But they’re still losing potential customers who Google their name and find articles about the breach.

In today’s world, privacy violations become permanent parts of your company’s online reputation. That’s worth more than any fine.

How to Actually Stay Legal (The Framework That Works)

After helping dozens of companies navigate this stuff, I’ve developed a framework that keeps you out of trouble regardless of which country you’re operating in:

The “Assume Worst Case” Rule

Always operate as if the strictest possible privacy laws apply to your situation.

If you’re doing any international people search, assume GDPR applies. If you’re in the US, assume CCPA applies. If you’re in Australia, assume the Privacy Act applies. This is slightly more restrictive than you might need in some situations, but it keeps you safe everywhere.

The cost of over-compliance is always less than the cost of under-compliance.

The Documentation Standard

Keep records of everything. Every decision about data collection, every consent you obtain, every deletion request you process.

GDPR requires you to demonstrate compliance, not just claim it. That means having documentation that proves you’re following the law. I tell clients to document their compliance like they’re going to get audited tomorrow, because they might be.

This isn’t just European paranoia – US courts are also expecting better documentation in privacy lawsuits.

The “Can You Sleep at Night?” Test

Before doing anything with personal data, ask yourself: if this person knew exactly what I was doing with their information, would they be okay with it?

If the answer is no, don’t do it. If the answer is “probably,” find a way to get their explicit consent. This isn’t a legal standard – it’s an ethical one that tends to keep you on the right side of most privacy laws.

The Platforms and Practices That’ll Get You Sued

Social Media Scraping: The Lawsuit Magnet

This is where I see most people get in trouble. They think because someone posted something publicly on Facebook or LinkedIn, they can scrape that data and use it however they want.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

LinkedIn has specifically sued people for scraping profile data. Facebook’s terms of service prohibit bulk data collection. Twitter has rate limits and API restrictions specifically to prevent scraping.

The platforms don’t just ban your account – they sue you. With armies of lawyers and unlimited budgets.

“Publicly Available” Database Aggregation

Just because voter registration records are public doesn’t mean you can aggregate them with property records and social media data to create comprehensive profiles without consent.

Different types of public records have different legal protections. Voter records might be public for election purposes but not for commercial people search. Property records might be public for real estate transparency but not for stalking prevention.

The legal concept is “data minimization” – you can only collect and use the data that’s necessary for your specific, stated purpose.

Cross-Border Data Transfers

Moving personal data across international borders is a legal minefield that most people completely ignore.

The EU has specific rules about where personal data can be sent. China has restrictions on data leaving the country. Russia has data localization requirements. Even Canada has rules about cross-border data transfers.

I had a client who thought they could store EU customer data on US servers because it was cheaper. They were wrong. Cost them $75,000 to build EU-compliant data infrastructure after they got investigated.

When You Should Just Hire a Lawyer (And When You Shouldn’t)

Hire a lawyer if:

• You’re processing data on more than 10,000 people annually
• You’re operating in more than one country
• You’re collecting sensitive data (financial, health, biometric)
• You’re providing information for employment, credit, or housing decisions
• Your annual revenue from people search exceeds $100,000

Don’t hire a lawyer if:

• You’re doing occasional personal searches for friends and family
• You’re using established platforms like WhitePages for basic contact information
• You’re only operating in your home country with minimal data collection

The legal fees for proper privacy compliance start around $15,000 for basic international compliance and go up quickly. But getting sued costs a lot more.

The Simple Rules That Keep 90% of People Out of Trouble

Rule 1: Only Collect What You Actually Need

Don’t collect birth dates if you only need to verify identity. Don’t collect addresses if you only need phone numbers. Don’t collect social media profiles if you only need employment history.

More data equals more liability.

Rule 2: Tell People What You’re Doing

Have a clear privacy policy that explains what data you collect, why you collect it, and what you do with it. Make it easy to find and easy to understand.

“We collect publicly available information for research purposes” isn’t specific enough anymore. You need to explain exactly what information and exactly what research.

Rule 3: Make It Easy to Opt Out

Give people a simple way to remove their information or opt out of data collection. Respond to these requests quickly and completely.

The harder you make it to opt out, the more likely you are to get sued when someone gets mad about their data being used.

Rule 4: Don’t Be Creepy

This isn’t a legal standard, but it’s a practical one. If your use of someone’s data would freak them out if they knew about it, you’re probably breaking some law somewhere.

Use common sense. People search to reconnect with old friends? Probably fine. People search to build detailed dossiers on your neighbors? Probably not fine.

The Bottom Line: Why This Matters More Than You Think

I’ve spent the last three years helping companies navigate international privacy laws, and here’s what I’ve learned: the rules are only getting stricter, the enforcement is only getting more aggressive, and the penalties are only getting more expensive.

Five years ago, you could run a people search business with minimal legal oversight and probably be fine. Today, that approach will get you sued, fined, or shut down.

The companies that survive and thrive in this environment are the ones that treat privacy compliance as a core business function, not an afterthought. They invest in proper systems, hire qualified lawyers, and build compliance into their operations from day one.

The ones that try to wing it? They’re the cautionary tales I tell other clients.

Start by understanding the laws in your jurisdiction. If you’re doing anything international, assume GDPR applies. Document everything. Make it easy for people to opt out. And when in doubt, ask a lawyer instead of guessing.

Your business, your reputation, and your bank account will thank you for getting this right the first time instead of learning these lessons the expensive way like I did.

The privacy laws aren’t going away. They’re only getting stronger. The choice is whether you adapt now or get forced to adapt later after paying some very expensive fines.