LF: Florida makes $63m selling names, addresses, dates of birth and lists of vehicles people drive

Title: Florida makes $63m selling names, addresses, dates of birth and lists of vehicles people drive - and it's all perfectly legal
Source: Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... sts-vehicles-people-drive.html
Published: Jul 21, 2011
Author: David Gardner
Post Date: 2011-07-21 08:12:35 by Sebastian
Keywords: None
Views: 315

The state of Florida made $63million last year by selling personal details of drivers filed with the DMV - and it's all perfectly legal.

Names, addresses, dates of birth and the types of vehicle they drive are all being sold for a tidy profit to companies as long as they promise not to harass anyone, claims Miami's Local 10 news.

Lexus Nexus and Shadow Soft are among the firms that reportedly pay for the information many people would consider confidential.

No privacy: The state of Florida is making money out of selling personal details of drivers filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles

Only judges and police officers can request that their personal details are not for sale.

Few people realise that the information gathered by DMV offices across the country is available to certain companies under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act.

Ann Howard of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles told Local 10: 'Per federal mandate, there are companies that are entitled to this information.

'Insurance companies, for example, are entitled to this information. Employers are entitled to this information.

'This information cannot be sold to a company that plans to solicit business, such as companies that want you to come to their ice cream store or companies that want you to buy their vehicles,' she added.

In the dark: The vast majority of drivers are completely unaware of the sale of personal details

There are 15.5 million registered drivers in Florida and the state charges firms one cent per electronic file.

Social Security numbers and license plates are not included in the sale to companies that gather data and then sell it on for various different purposes.

Motorists quizzed by Local 10 were astonished to learn about the practice that is also carried out in other states.

'This is my own personal information, and I don't think it should be out there,' said John Platt.

Set of rules: The companies that take part in the scheme must promise that they will not use the information to harass people

The companies that buy the information must sign contracts pledging not to bother people.

'If a company violates the Federal Driver Privacy Protection Act, they do face federal charges and federal fines,' said Ms Howard.

The DMV claims the sale is also a matter of public safety because if there is a vehicle recall, the manufacturer involved will have the most current owners details.

Permissible users of the personal details include any government agency, insurance companies, employers, businesses wishing to verify or correct information, for producing statistical reports and other research as long as personal details are not published, and for use by licensed private investigation agencies in certain circumstances.