1. Proportionality test

• Public official / candidate: higher tolerance for public-record checks.
• Private person: minimal footprint; stop at harassment risk.
• Victims / witnesses: default to no OSINT expansion without consent and counsel.

2. Purpose binding

Write the legitimate purpose (e.g., verify campaign account). Do not expand scope mid-investigation.

3. Source triangulation

Two independent public sources before stating identity linkage. Username hits alone are weak.

4. Documentation

Tool, date, URL, confidence — no storing unrelated third-party PII in Patriot logs.

5. Stop rules

Discontinue if findings enable stalking, discrimination, or domestic harm — refuse and refer to professionals.

Related skills

osint-identity-researcher, breach-data-analysis-specialist