Most of us would not list our state Department of Motor Vehicles among the likely entities to compromise our personal data, but according to a Motherboard report, we might want to check our assumptions. It seems that the California Department of Motor Vehicles is making over fifty million dollars a year selling personal information, including name, physical address, and car registration information. Purchasers of this personal data include credit agencies, data brokers, and private investigators.
The sale of personal information is not limited to the California DMV. Motherboard also found that agencies in other states are selling personal data that drivers provide in order to obtain a drivers license. Agreements with buyers include both bulk purchases and the capacity to look up specific individuals. Prominent among buyers in a range of states are private investigators who make money tracking people.
The use of DMV data is governed by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) enacted in 1994 after a private investigator hired by a stalker of actress Rebecca Schaeffer secured her address for the stalker who went on to murder the actress. The law was intended to restrict access to personal data, but it included provisions allowing personal data to be sold to licensed private investigators.
With some calling for action to update the privacy protections for data collected by motor vehicle departments and other government agencies, it may be time for new legislation. However, with the sale of individual citizen data generating millions each year, there are incentives to leave the data sales options as open as they are.
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