At 09:29 PM 8/8/96 -0400, Pete Loshin wrote:

The furor over the Oregon DMV database seems a bit misplaced: this type of information is considered to be in the public domain. You can buy it on tape/whatever for business purposes direct from the state.

Actually, in Oregon I don't think there is any restriction as to what purposes you ask for the information. I've never filled out such a request before (preferring to get my data from a CDROM which tells no tales...) but as I understand it there's no restriction. (Other than legality?!?)

There are lots of people who I don't want to have any information about me who can get what's on file down at the Mass Registry of Motor Vehicles. That's the way it works.

Now, there's lots of times when it would have been nice to have access to that information myself. Use your imagination. Why should the public be denied the right to access this information when businesses have had that privilege for some time? I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to be taken away from businesses, either, though I suppose the states will now pass laws prohibiting the public dissemination of this data.

I've pointed out elsewhere that our goal should be the elimination of the collection of this data by the state in the first place, an appropriately radical idea. Jim Bell jimbell@pacifier.com