Date: Fri,  6 Nov 92 02:56:23 GMT
From: news@cbnewsh.att.com
Newsgroups: comp.society.privacy
Subject: Re: ssn and traffic tickets
Organization: New Jersey Re-Education Facility for the Differently Clued
X-Submissions-To: comp-privacy@pica.army.mil
X-Administrivia-To: comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil
X-Computer-Privacy-Digest: Volume 1, Issue 097, Message 7 of 8

   : In Alabama, your SSN is printed on your driver's license. 
   : It's *not* the DL#, but it is printed on the card itself.
   : How many other states also have the SSN printed on the license?
   In Virginia your drivers license number *is* your SSN. 

   Various other states also were mentioned as one or the other.

If you look at the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 and the amendments in ~1985,
you'll find that they authorize a few specific uses of the SSN,
forbid non-authorized uses, and place a whole pile of requirements on
government organizations that ask for the SSN, such as privacy act notifications.
They *can* demand the number, and use it for internal purposes,
but they *can't* print it on your license if you object, though you
often need to do a lot of arguing to get them to follow the law.

Sometimes the phrase "are you aware that the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 
permits fines of $5000 for individual government employees who violate
Social Security Number privacy laws?" will get their attention,
or will at least get bureaucrats to call their boss.  
This may not work with cops, since they're perfectly happy to take you
down to the police station to talk to their supervisor, 
leaving your car by the side of the road to be towed away as "abandoned",
so you're probably better off not remembering too well.

I had a go-round with the New Jersey motor vehicle droids about SSNs on licenses.
Providing the number used to be voluntary, and if you gave it to them
they printed it "for your convenience".  My license came up for renewal just
after the law changed to make it mandatory , but before they changed
their computer software not to print the number.  The clerk was very
hostile when I suggested that obeying Federal law was more important
than obeying bureaucratic procedures, and told me to use the pay phone to
call her supervisor.  N levels of uncooperative bureaucrats later, ...
	"I'd like to talk to your supervisor"
	"I AM the supervisor"
	"You mean there's nobody above you I can talk to?"
	"That's right, I'm the top guy."
	"Wow, Governor Kean, it's nice to meet you!"
	"<grumble grumble> ok, let me get our lawyer on the line"

The lawyer was reasonable, and said that they knew had a legal problem,
but they were having trouble getting their software contractor to do
_anything_ right so this would take a while, so we compromised on 
letting the hostile clerk cross out the number heavily before
transferring the printout to the photo license.

Of course, once they've got your number, they're unlikely to lose it,
so you've got to protect it from the beginning.
--
#				Pray for peace;      Bill
# Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 wcs@anchor.att.com AT&T Bell Labs 4M312 Holmdel NJ
# Nov 12 - Anniversary of Indonesian massacre in East Timor, 1991
# Indonesia first invaded in 1975, and about 1/3 of the people have been killed.