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If you already think social networks give you a bit more information than you want about some people, TrueScoop’s new Facebook application might make you cringe. It’s completely free public records search, a service that lots of websites charge for, usually so potential employers can do background checks. But now, that information is in everyone’s hands, ready to expose your embarrassing run-ins with the law and financial missteps.

The application itself is essentially just a search tool – enter someone’s name and see a listing of their traffic stops, places lived, and rulings against them – like owing money to someone. There is also a listing of the most popular searches conducted with the application, which, not surprisingly, includes lots of celebrities like Anderson Cooper and Kobe Bryant. When you do a search, it’s broadcast to Facebook’s News Feed.

How accurate are the results? It’s hard to say, though the application did a good job of identifying my numerous traffic violations in the Commonwealth of Virginia (though it missed a few from other states!). Perhaps someone with a bit more of an exotic criminal record can let us know anonymously how well the application does at finding dirt in the comments.

In any event, there’s certainly nothing unfair about public records search – after all, the information is public, and companies like TrueScoop are just using the Web to make it more accessible. And, I can totally see the point when it’s used for screening job applicants, babysitters, government employees, etc. But the fact it’s completely free and so easy to use gives me pause. Just because we can do something with technology, should we?