Director of Revenue denies violating drivers' privacy

In documents filed May 16 in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Missouri Director of Revenue Trish Vincent denied violating drivers' privacy rights by allowing a marketing firm to include advertisements in driver's license renewal notices.

By making the decision to include advertising, the state saved more than half a million dollars, according to an April 3 Associated Press article:

Missouri residents Michele Poynter and Jan Bradstreet filed a lawsuit in federal court in Kansas City last month alleging that providing their information to the company violates a federal law protecting drivers' data.

“Defendants' disclosure of plaintiffs' personal information constitutes an invasion of privacy that violates the (federal law),” according to the lawsuit filed by Kansas City attorney Douglas Gentile.

The lawsuit says the Driver's Privacy Protection Act forbids disclosing personal information in motor vehicle records for “surveys, marketing materials or solicitations” without first obtaining people's consent.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status and damages of $2,500 per person whose information was improperly provided - in a state the lawsuit estimates has more than 2 million drivers.

The Revenue Department said Monday that advertisers have no access to Missourians' information, and that details the company gets are not considered private under the federal law.

The company gets a person's name, address and vehicle registration details, but not a Social Security number, age or other personal information, Revenue Department spokeswoman Maura Browning said.