Florida is allegedly selling drivers' personal information to private companies and marketing firms - michael towner

Records show the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV) made $77 million in 2017 by selling drivers' personal information to more than 30 private companies, including marketing firms, bill collectors, insurance companies and data brokers. 
Now, one Lakeland woman says she received an onslaught of robocalls, and direct mail offers as a result.
Sonia Arvin lives with her twin sister, Tonia Baston, who just moved from Idaho. Arvin takes care of Baston, who has an intellectual disability, and is her legal guardian.
"We took her to get an ID because she's a Medicaid patient," Arvin said.
Days later, Arvin said Batson started receiving direct mail offers for lawn service, credit cards, cell phones and insurance. They now receive constant robocalls, and salespeople have even started showing up at their door.
In Idaho, Batson lived in a group home where someone else handled her finances, daily living and healthcare arrangements. She had no digital footprint because she can't read or write.
That's why Arvin wanted to know how marketers got her sister's personal information.
"The only one that had it was the (FHSMV)," Arvin said. "Even if it's a public record in Florida – if we tell them we want it private, it should be kept private."
While the FHSMV sells driver data to private companies, those companies are not permitted to use that data for marketing purposes. Once FHSMV officials were alerted to Baston's case, the state opened an investigation.
It turns out that not every company plays by the rules.
Florida says it has banned data sales to three companies since 2017 for misusing driver and ID cardholder information. Under the law, FHSMV must provide driver information but said federal privacy laws and its own rules limit how outside companies can access Florida residents' personal information.
Read the state's privacy statement by clicking here.
One of the data brokers accessing Florida DMV information is Arkansas-based marketing firm Acxiom, which has an agreement with the state to buy driver and ID cardholder data for one cent per record.
On its website, Acxiom claims it has collected information from almost every adult in the United States.
"Acxiom provides clients with access to 2.5 billion customers and two-thirds of the world's population," a promotional video on Acxiom's website says.
The video also claims the company has a client list that includes banks, automakers and department stores.
Courtesy: By: WFTS Staff, LAKELAND, Fla. For full story, click here