Drivers license number is very frequently used for identity verification purposes or gates away access to essential government benefits. It’s personal information; as evidenced by the fact that it’s definitionally covered by literally every states data breach notification laws and the handful of state consumer privacy laws that exist.
Comment on X is working on ID verification, what’s next?
joe@lemmy.world 1 year agoBut your SSN is private and you shouldn’t give it out or show it except in very rare instances.
What information on a driver’s license is private? Your address? Your eye color? Your birthday?
Gutless2615@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
joe@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yes, except you give that card to all sorts of people, right? So it is really private? Identifying, yes, but private?
MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 1 year ago
In the digital age, absolutely.
MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 1 year ago
All those bits of information are caller personally identifiable information (PII) and are protected by law forvqnything involving health and financial data.
In it’s old form, the license isn’t a huge problem because people can’t use it to clear your accounts, fraudulently open credit cards, take out loans.
All of those are trivial with the SSN, combined with a few of the above data points.
Now, however, in America the drivers license is becoming required to be a full homeland security certified ID equal to or more important than the passport.
It is encoded with all your vitals and readable by a quick scan. With your full name, age, birthdate, address, height, weight, and eye color combined with the SSN, you are screwed if shady players have that.