Public records databases in the U.S. aggregate billions of records from thousands of sources, including government agencies, to create comprehensive commercial datasets.

Companies like LexisNexis compile public records from over 10,000 sources, including state and local databases, social media, and employment records, into vast warehouses containing over 91 billion records. These aggregated datasets enable deep investigations and analytics but raise concerns about errors, outdated information, and the ethical use of data not originally collected for commercial purposes.