COMMENTARY: State Sale of Driver’s License Data Sparks Debate over Federal Privacy Law

Abstract

The proliferation of computerized databases of personal information has brought renewed attention to federal privacy law. While privacy rights under the Constitution have traditionally been limited to intimate details of personal lives, recent disputes have raised the question as to whether notions of substantive due process also extend to personal data. The focus of recent disputes has been the practice that thirty-four state motor vehicle departments have of selling the personal data of registered drivers to direct marketing companies and to other firms and individuals.