In the midst of Florida’s housing crisis, some state lawmakers want to move legal notices of foreclosures from newspapers to the Internet, sparking a debate over access to information and charges of favoritism. Newspapers publish hundreds of thousands of small-type legal notices a year, which are required before a lender can foreclose on a home. The revenue is lucrative for business publications that depend heavily on legal ads. Supporters say the change is long overdue, as newspaper readership declines and more and more commerce is transacted electronically. Critics, largely newspapers, say Web-only notices would hurt the poor and elderly, who aren’t computer-savvy.
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