The article doesn't specify, but in those cases, there should be some form of informed consent.
I don't want Geico pulling my record unless I request a quote. They should be barred from doing so unless I explicitly grant permission.
I don't want Schneider International pulling my record unless I'm interviewing for a job. They should be barred from doing so unless I explicitly grant permission.
That's how it works here in the EU - if your job needs a record of (the lack of) any prior convictions, they can't just request/buy it from the police. You have to get the official form that lists that information, then give it to your employer.
It doesn't matter one lick if some company needs some bit of information. The government's role shouldn't be to spy on you on behalf of corporations.
Which is fine, but I was addressing the comment I was replying to, which basically discounted the entire concept of DMVs selling driving records to insurance companies and trucking companies as "fucked."
I mean, the fact that they're _selling_ it per se is also fucked -- the notion that data about me is something the state sells (not a thing that the state charges a fee to access, like some public records) is a pretty dismal concept.
Possibly nothing, but in this context, to me, "sell" means sell for a profit, while "charge for access" means charge just enough to cover hosting/admin costs. For something like getting my address or driving record, that's possibly the difference between $5 and $20 per request (total guesses).
I suppose it's the difference between "you downloaded this page to your RAM" and "you downloaded this file to your hard drive", plus how "access" means you're given a license to the data, and "selling" means you now own it as property.
I don't want Geico pulling my record unless I request a quote. They should be barred from doing so unless I explicitly grant permission.
I don't want Schneider International pulling my record unless I'm interviewing for a job. They should be barred from doing so unless I explicitly grant permission.