Washington sues to protect personal information of millions of drivers

Attorney General Nick Brown joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania today in filing two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s demand for states to turn over records containing the sensitive personal information of 17 million drivers who hold commercial driver’s licenses. 

The Trump administration has threatened to terminate more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) if the states refuse this illegal order.

The coalition filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is an administration of the DOT, and AAMVA, as well as an additional related lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The lawsuits claim the DOT, FMCSA and DHS are violating multiple federal privacy laws by secretly setting up their own database with records extorted from AAMVA, with no guardrails on the use or sharing of drivers’ Social Security numbers and other personal information, and no notice to the public.

“When Washingtonians provide information to our state, they rightfully expect it will be kept confidential and secure, and used for the reasons the government told them,” said Brown. “The federal government is violating privacy laws to serve a political agenda.”

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