But Bernice is right. When credit agencies, private investigators, third-party data brokers and other buyers ask for your info, the DMV in many states happily provides it. That’s stuff like your address, date of birth and phone number. Though the DMV doesn’t charge much for each request, perhaps as little as a penny each time, they sell so many people’s data, and sell it over and over enough that it definitely starts to add up. In 2017, for instance, California made more than $50 million this way. Florida made over $75 million.
We’re not saying you necessarily need to be outraged by this. This privacy invasion isn’t going to kill you. But... hold on, we take that back. Maybe it will kill you.
Okay, it probably won’t kill you, but we should mention the case of Robert Bardo. The 1994 Driver’s Privacy Protection Act restricts DMVs from selling your data, and it’s because of Bardo. He was a fan of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, and by “fan,” we mean “fanatic, in the worst possible way.” He stalked her for years, then saw her do a sex scene in a movie and became enraged. She was supposed to stay pure for him.
He hired a detective who obtained her address for him through the DMV. Then Bardo showed up at her house, and she willingly met him then wished him goodbye. An hour later, he returned and shot her in the heart. He ran down the highway, yelling, “I killed Rebecca Schaeffer.” He is now serving a life sentence in prison.
Like we said, that incident led to a law restricting how DMVs can release personal data. That law still included various exceptions, which is why the practice continues today and makes more money than ever. One of those exceptions? DMVs can sell data to private investigators. Bardo got data through a private investigator, so great job responding to Schaeffer’s murder, lawmakers.