Make, Model and...; May 1993; Scientific American Magazine; by Paul Wallich; 2 Page(s)

If you drive a car in Massachusetts, Simson L. Garfunkel probably knows who you are. This past March, David Lewis of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles told a session at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference in San Francisco that the agency is required by law to sell its registration file for the cost of copying. "So how much does it cost?" asked Garfunkel, a computer journalist and technical adept. "What fields does it contain?"

The answer: $77 for a magnetic tape containing nine million registration records with the make, model and year of each car, plus the name and address of the owners, the date of registration and any liens against the vehicle.