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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    1

    Default Does the Drivers Privacy Protection Act Limit Police Access to DMV Records

    I have a question about the DPPA. I am not a lawyer (hence the posting) but I do review federal regulations for a living. In reading the DPPA, the usage of private data appears to be highly restricted:

    2721.a "A State dept. of motor vehicles ... shall not knowingly disclose ...":

    2721.a.1 "personal info ... except as provided in (b) ..."

    2721.b "Personal information ... shall be disclosed for use in connection with matters of motor vehicle or driver safety [etc.] ... and ... may be disclosed as follows:"

    2721.b.1 "For use by any government agency ... in carrying out its functions."

    However, 2721.b.1 appears to be interpretted to allow full access by police (for example) to DMV info for purposes unrelated to motor vehicles. Is this true? For example, if I trespass on a private property, can the police access my private DMV info? Is 2721.b.1 meant to be applied only within the context of 2721.b?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Drivers Privacy Protection Act (Dppa) Scope of Protection

    Absolutely. The police has full access to the data for just about any OFFICIAL purpose they can imagine. The whole point of this statute is to keep people like domestic anti-abortion terrorists from co-opting the government databases.

    The way the statute reads they can be disclosed (without restriction) for the motor vehicle safety and theft recovery purposes as stated plus
    EXCEPT for the "highly restricted" stuff referenced in (a) (2) it can be disclosed to the people in the numbered list.

    The "highly restricted" stuff only includes SSN, photo, and medical/disability information.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Does the Drivers Privacy Protection Act Limit Police Access to DMV Records

    Examples where they are not permitted would be: to find info out about a hot potential partner. To find info on someone a friend is mad at.

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