The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles sells information about vehicle registrants to third-party interests. Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns wants to know who those third parties are. He also says citizens have the right to op out but the state falls woefully short in its effort to advise them of that right.
When you register a vehicle in New York State, the information you provide can be sold by the DMV to a third party. It includes the name and address of the owner of the vehicle. It also includes specific information about the vehicle including its make and model, the year it was manufactured, weight, body style, number of passengers and cylinders, fuel, license number, type of registration and transaction, validation, and expiration date and vehicle identification number of the vehicle.
Selling that information is legal. However, those who do not want their information sold have the right to opt out at the time of their transaction. Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns says the problem is that New York State doesn't make that clear. He showed a copy of the DMV's auto registration form, noting that nowhere was the opt-out option displayed or offered.
Kearns revealed the results of a recent survey of 1,500 local registrants. Among those who responded, 95 percent replied they would prefer to opt out.
"When people come to the Auto Bureaus, they feel as though that information should be kept private," Kearns said. "I don't believe third parties, companies that are no government agencies, should have access to that information if the public wants it."
Under the state's opt-out law, those who choose the option would be deleted from the third party's file for all purposes except certain circumstances such as recalls or warranty issues.
Kearns also states that the DMV does not disclose which third-party entities have purchased the information. He announced Wednesday he is filing a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to find out which companies have done so. When the information is received, Kearns plans to post the names of those companies on Erie County's website.
"They could be telemarketing companies but we don't know that, because it's not listed anywhere on any state website or DMV website," he said.
The man Kearns replaced, State Senator Chris Jacobs, is sponsoring legislation in Albany that would require all registration documents clearly present the opt-out choice.
“My legislation mandates that DMV will clearly and prominently place opt-out information on all its forms, as well as its website,” said Senator Jacobs in a prepared written statement. “It’s sad and frustrating that you have to pass a law to compel a state agency to abide by an existing law, but since the DMV has not managed to make this opt-out information public, my legislation will specifically direct them on how to do so.”
Kearns revealed the Erie County Clerk's Office also sells information but he is working on firming up policy to ensure that information is not used for commercial purposes. An example he used when explaining his office's information sales was real estate transaction information that is published by the Buffalo News periodically.
