Court Records Should Be Free(eff.org)
389 points by hn_acker 18 hours ago | 84 comments
tl;dr: The EFF is backing the Open Courts Act of 2026, which would eliminate PACER's fees (currently generating over $150 million annually) and replace the aging PACER/CM/ECF systems with a modern unified platform for accessing federal court records. Supporters argue public court documents shouldn't be paywalled, and the bill builds on a prior bipartisan effort that stalled before becoming law.
HN Discussion:
  • Court records are public law and citizens shouldn't pay to access what governs them
  • Existing workarounds like RECAP/CourtListener help but ideally would be made obsolete by reform
  • State court access fees are even worse than PACER, highlighting broader access problem
  • ~Skepticism that 'free' access will actually mean free for the public versus privileged partners
  • ~Concerns about government rebuilding the technical platform competently