California plan to share driver’s license data raises privacy concerns

California is preparing to share driver’s license data in a nationwide network, a move state leaders say is meant to comply with federal REAL ID requirements but has sparked concern among privacy advocates and immigrant rights groups.

The plan, first reported by CalMatters, will opt California into the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ data network, representatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and the California Department of Motor Vehicles told several groups in a call on April 7.

“The problem, of course, is that once this data is uploaded, it’s out of the state’s control,” said Edward Hasbrouck, a privacy expert with The Identity Project who participated in the call.

AAMVA, a private organization comprised of motor vehicle officials, said its system is only accessible by other states to check drivers’ histories as they attempt to get a license in a new jurisdiction. It looks for unpaid fines or fees, pending violations or suspended credentials.

The organization said 44 states currently participate, with California and the remaining five others expected to join in the next two to three years. In a statement, it said, “AAMVA operates these systems to assist states in ensuring that drivers cannot escape the consequences of poor driver behavior by moving to another jurisdiction, fulfilling the goal of one driver, one license, and one record.”

Privacy advocates say that assurance and the explanation from the state, fall short.

“Neither the governor nor the DMV nor any California state agency can offer an honest promise that once the data goes to AAMVA, that has left the state’s hand, that the state will even know, much less be able to challenge if federal or other law enforcement agents get it,” Hasbrouck said, adding, “Their explanations were thoroughly unsatisfactory and in some cases, flat out wrong.”

Newsom’s office denied in a post on social media that the move will give federal agencies access to AAMVA’s system, nor that it will include information on drivers’ immigration status.

“CalMatters got it wrong – their reporting hurts vulnerable Californians by manufacturing fear and panic with lies,” Newsom’s office said in the statement. “California continues to lead in supporting immigrant families and protecting personal data from federal overreach.”

For years, undocumented immigrants in California have been able to obtain driver’s licenses under AB 60, a 2013 law that aimed to improve safety by reducing the number of unlicensed drivers on the road. That law also included assurances that those licenses would not be used for immigration enforcement.

But Hasbrouck said anyone in the system without a Social Security Number is given a placeholder of all nines, raising the possibility that the federal government could access the data with a subpoena and a warrant and use that as a way to target undocumented immigrants – who are not eligible for a SSN – for enforcement.

“Although there’s nothing per se that says undocumented immigrant in that record, all someone needs to do who’s gotten a hold of the … database from AAMVA is just search for all the records that have all nines in the Social Security number field, and you’ll have a list of all the people who weren’t able to supply a Social Security number,” Hasbrouck said, adding that a subpoena or warrant could include a gag order, in which case the state may not know about that effort.

AAMVA said its network has never been the subject of a subpoena or warrant, and it would consult with legal counsel in such a case to determine available objections. A spokesperson for the DMV said California requested and received a commitment from AAMVA requiring the organization to notify the state of any request for data from any third-party entity, including federal or other law enforcement.

The state said federal agencies can already access California’s data by directly subpoenaing the DMV, so participating in AAMVA’s network does not raise the level of risk.

“It feels like a betrayal,” said Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego.

The data sharing requires a change in state law as well as an estimated $55 million in the state budget to fund the process, Hasbrouck said, for things like labor costs and connectivity.

“This is crazy. We are in a budget deficit,” Guerrero said. “$55 million could go to health care, child care, and other critical state services. We need all Californians to let their legislators in the state of California know that this is unacceptable.”

The state said the participation in the network is to comply with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 that requires state-to-state verification of driver records, and AAMVA runs the only such system.

Hasbrouck said he believes the state is operating under the premise that if they do not join the network, the Transportation Security Administration may not accept California driver’s licenses at airports.

“This is a choice to prioritize the convenience of people who want to fly over the safety and the freedom of California immigrants who relied on the promise that was made to them when they got this driver’s license — that the data would never be made available,” Hasbrouck said.