Government Sells Drivers License Photos
Here's another privacy nightmare...
Three state governments -- Florida, South Carolina, and
Colorado -- have contracted to sell a combined total of 22.5 million
drivers license photographs to Image Data LLD, a private anti-fraud
company in New Hampshire. This despite the fact that citizens were
required by law to submit to the picture-taking to be able to drive.
Image Data LLD will use the photos to build a
nationwide photographic database, which retail establishments can use
to confirm the identity of customers who cash checks or use credit
cards.
Outraged citizens immediately protested the sale, raising such agitation
that some state officials tried to back out of the deal. However, last week
a state
judge in South Carolina ruled that the right of privacy doesn't extend to
the photos,
and the state is obligated to fulfill the sale.
Libertarian Party National Director Steve Dasbach notes that photographs are
just a small part of the flood of personal data that the government collects
about its citizens -- ranging from mandated fingerprints on drivers
licenses, to omnipresent Social Security numbers, to roving wiretaps, to
cameras mounted on traffic
lights, to the "Deadbeat Dad" federal employment database, and more.
Other privacy advocates note that even more invasive measures -- such as
retina-encoded identity cards, mandated work permits, and border X-ray
machines -- are on the federal government's agenda.
(Sources: Associated Press / Libertarian Party media release)
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