Text of ACLU Letter to the Attorney General Regarding Florida DMV Violations of Privacy
April 8, 2003
Attorney General John Ashcroft
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Mr. Ashcroft:
We are writing to call your attention to the fact that, for the last several years, the State of Florida has had policies or practices that are in substantial noncompliance with an important federal law, the Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). Further, the State of Florida continues to violate the DPPA.
The DPPA grants the Attorney General the authority to remedy substantial non-compliance by state motor vehicle departments, and we urge you to exercise that authority to penalize the State of Florida for its failure to comply with that law, and thereby secure compliance with this important federal law.
This Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), passed by Congress in 1994 and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000, bans the states from selling the personal information they collect on Americans when they administer driver's licenses. The DPPA also requires the states to keep such information private in most circumstances, unless the state obtains the express consent of the individual involved. The law was passed after the tragic murder of actress Rebecca Shaeffer by a stalker who obtained her address from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
As the ACLU's legal analysis (attached) demonstrates, Florida is in clear violation of this important national privacy law:
- Florida allows virtually anyone to access driver's license records by classifying such records as public records unless the individual license holder has affirmatively requested the State to withhold such information. Federal law, however, bans the states from sharing anyone's personal information unless they obtain a person's "express consent" to do so. Federal law requires that the burden is on the state to obtain permission (opt-in), not on the individual to beseech the state to protect their privacy (opt-out).
- Even worse, Florida permits the bulk distribution of private information from motor vehicle files to marketers and companies that traffic in Americans' personal information.
- Federal law requires that states give extra protection to "highly restricted personal information" (such as an individual's photograph, social security number, medical or disability information). Florida fails to do so, making such information widely available along with everything else.
The bottom line is that federal law requires an "opt-in" privacy regime when it comes to the disclosure of driver's license information. However, the State of Florida has in place an "opt-out" regime. Worse yet, Florida officials have been aware of the federal requirements for over three years but have taken no steps to bring their policies or procedures within those federal requirements.
The state of Florida's failure to comply with the DPPA is a serious matter. In recent years, identity theft has emerged as one of our nation's fastest-growing crimes, and the range of malicious uses to which an individual's private information can be put is growing daily.
With Americans' privacy under assault from many directions, citizens should be able to look to their state governments for assistance in preserving their privacy. They don't expect to see those governments serving as the handmaiden of marketers, data aggregators, and others who make it their business to use and market an individual's personal information. Citizens do not expect their state governments to leave their personal information open to any criminal who might want to look at it. And they certainly don't expect to see that taking place when such activities have already been explicitly banned by Congress.
We trust that you will act with vigor to protect the will of Congress and the privacy of residents of the state of Florida.
Sincerely,
Howard Simon, Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida
Barry Steinhardt, Director
Technology and Liberty Program
American Civil Liberties Union