The case was prompted by a California stalking incident. The federal judge in that case ruled that driver's license data isn't intimate personal information and shouldn't be kept secret. Selling a photo for commercial gain, Condon contends, is a different matter. And if one ventures into cyberspace, driver's license information can be found on some Web sites. Image Data president Robert Houvener noted in court last week that many companies offer such data on South Carolina drivers on the Internet.
People understand that.
Then the state turns around and takes that information and sells it to somebody else. But some worry that in the zeal to protect peoples' privacy, the open records laws could get trampled. Kirtley also wondered about attempts to keep records open to the press, but prohibit them from companies who plan to make a profit off such information. She said she feared that the government would be the arbitrary gatekeeper for such information, playing kingmaker at any whim. Demand varies for the information that state agencies sell.