--- Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 15:28:15 -0500 From: Robert Gellman <rgellmanat_private> To: declanat_private Subject: Re: FC: Are journalists too eager to side with privacy over freespeech? I have to respond to correct an inaccuracy in this posting. > being taxed equitably. The article also brings up the infamous case of > Rebecca Schaeffer, the actress who was murdered by a stalker who > tracked her down through state driver's license records. That slaying > spurred Congress to require states to block public access > (http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/v.cgi?24-1/foi-congress) to driver's > license records — eliminating a tool that reporters have often found > useful to track down a source. The irony, unmentioned in the Business > Week article, is that Schaeffer's killer got her address through a > private investigator — and private investigators continue to have > access (http://www.rcfp.org/news/1999/1115renovc.html) to license > records under the federal law. The real irony is that critics of the DPPA keep saying that private investigators could still get the information that Schaeffer's killer wanted. THAT IS NOT TRUE. Under 18 USC 2721(a)(8), a licensed private investigator can get DMV records "for any purpose permitted under this section." The policy is that if a person is otherwise eligible to get DMV records (e.g., a tow truck operator), that person could use a private investigator to get the records. The investigator stands in the shoes of his/her client. In the Schaeffer case, the client has no right to get records and the investigator had no right. This is an urban myth about the DPPA that has been posted routinely, often by members of the press. It would be nice if someone actually read the law first. Bob -- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Robert Gellman + + Privacy and Information Policy Consultant + + 419 Fifth Street SE + + Washington, DC 20003 + + 202-543-7923 <rgellmanat_private> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q\clan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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