OFF THE WIRE
Source: Fox news.com
Virginia - Drivers in Virginia may not be aware that big brother is watching them.
The state government has been quietly collecting driver data from the
Department of Motor Vehicles to create a database of residents,
according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Dubbed the e-ID initiative, the state enterprise database was created to
help state agencies ferret out fraud and assist in helping residents
conduct business with the state more easily.
Virginia DMV has the records of nearly six million licensed drivers and
ID card holders. Some of that information - names, addresses, dates of
birth, driver's license numbers - will form the core of the e-ID
system..
State officials claim that the e-ID initiative will be limited in scope
and access-during a time where there is growing concern in the U.S.
about identity theft and government intrusion.
"It makes it easier to compromise your privacy," Claire Guthrie
Gastañaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Virginia said to the Times-Dispatch. "They're using DMV for some other
purpose than driving."
Officials for the Virginia DMV counters claims of privacy invasion by
pointing out that in modern times, driver's licenses are the standard ID
for most Americans and that participation in the e-ID system is
voluntary.
Four state agencies are currently involved in Virginia's e-ID
initiative: DMV; the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, which
runs the state's IT systems; the Department of Social Services; and the
Department of Medical Assistance Services.
