I posted this at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Biography last month but didn't get a reply, so I'm posting here to see if anyone else has an opinion on the issue.
Not sure whether there's a more relevant noticeboard I could post this on, so please feel free to direct me somewhere else if necessary. My query is about WP:BLP policy, specifically WP:BLPPRIVACY; has a consensus been reached about use of self-reported government sources for listing full names and DOBs on Wikipedia? In my experience, this tends to relate to BLP articles about UK-based public figures, as information about self-employed individuals/small business owners is available from Companies House via the company register search; I'm not sure whether equivalent systems/sources are available in other countries, but if so then this would also apply. My concern is that Companies House register entries often include not only annual business accounts (ie. disclosure of income/revenue) but also correspondence addresses (either accountants' offices or, sometimes, home addresses). Obviously, given that any information listed at Companies House is already freely available to the public, there's nothing stopping Wikipedia readers from going to the website and searching for it themselves. Still, I think listing it on a subject's article (often in the opening sentence, as a source for their full name and date of birth) draws attention to it and makes it much more likely that casual readers will visit the website and, potentially, gain access to sensitive information. Does Wikipedia policy/consensus already have a view on this kind of issue with regard to WP:BLPPRIVACY? Or if not, does anyone else have an opinion about this? (Is it just me overthinking?) Pineapple Storage (talk) 09:07, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
Note: the above is a substitutedTemplate:Excerpt from the original discussion.
I'd be really interested to hear anyone else's thoughts on this! Pineapple Storage (talk) 08:13, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
Government sources like Companies House shouldn't be used for full names and dates of birth. I think most editors with experience applying BLPPRIVACY and WP:BLPPRIMARY would agree. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 14:03, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
@Firefangledfeathers Thank you, yes this is what I thought so I'm glad I'm not the only one! Would you say there is consensus to actually remove full name/DOB information from BLP articles if the only available source is Companies House? Pineapple Storage (talk) 14:57, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
My practice is to put in a good-faith effort at finding reliable secondary sources that include that info. If I don't find them, I remove the content every time. Yes, consensus supports such a removal. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 15:06, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
@Firefangledfeathers That's been my policy so far too, so this is good to know. Thanks so much for your help! :) Pineapple Storage (talk) 15:26, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
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