Brickbat: The Eyes of Texas

Blood Simple

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has the names, addresses and other personal information on millions of drivers. And it's available for a price. A Dallas TV station found the state sold drivers' information to some 2,500 private investigators, towing companies, collections agencies and other businesses and agencies in 2012. Drivers can't keep the state from selling their information.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

If you're going to use the government's roads, you're going to feed one of its beloved databases. Once the state owns your information, it's none of your business what they do with their property.

[some guy]

Kind of like how the USPS facilitates spam mail. No need to write a bunch of addresses. For one low price we'll just deliver your crap to everyone on our route!

[Ted S.]

Normally I say it regarding education, but once again, the State is the biggest bully of them all. If any private sector business tried selling information it had collected on its customers, these assholes would be subpoenaing the businessmen and grandstanding so fast your head would spin.

[CharlesWT]

Drivers license, VIN and other data for Texas and other states has been available online at PublicData since 1997.

[Old Man With Candy]

It's even older than that. When I got my first DL in 1971, I had junk mail with that info on it arriving within weeks.