Worried about what happens to your license information after bar bouncers swipe your ID through machines to prove you are of age to drink?
So is the secretary of state’s office, and this week legislation was introduced in the House that would ensure your particulars aren’t used for marketing purposes or sold.
“When somebody shows their driver’s license to get into a bar, they should be sure that this is the last place there is a transaction, and that the only reason this information is going to be used, and nothing else, is for showing their ID,” said state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who is sponsoring the bill.
Feigenholtz, whose district encompasses the neighborhood packed with bars around Wrigley Field, said the idea for legislation was born after Secretary of State Jesse White’s office received complaints from people who were worried ID information was being used after they had their licenses scanned.
“We have had a number of complaints from people who have been required to do this and then turned up on solicitation lists,” said Nathan Maddox, assistant counsel for the secretary of state. “And there also are, of course, concerns about identity theft.”
But one Chicago club owner said that if patrons don’t want to give up their information to a bar, then they could go someplace else.
“I don’t think it’s infringing on someone’s privacy because if they don’t want us to have their information, then don’t come in,” said Joey Vartanian, co-owner of Crobar, 1543 N. Kingsbury St. Vartanian said that Crobar extracts a person’s address, date of birth and license number from the ID and that it is used only to send birthday cards. His company, which has been scanning IDs since October 2003, doesn’t sell the information to third parties, he said.
“What everyone’s missing is, it’s very expensive to market that way because people have old addresses on their licenses,” he said. “We are more successful inside when we ask people for their e-mail addresses. That’s where we do our marketing, through e-mail and telephone and that sort of thing.”
Feigenholtz’s bill would make it illegal for businesses to use license or state ID information in any way other than proving a person’s identity or age. If an individual’s information is abused, then the victim is permitted to take action against the business and is entitled to at least $250, plus attorney fees and the cost of filing the complaint. Maddox said that it would be up to the victim to notify the secretary of state’s office of a violation because the office doesn’t regulate the businesses.
“We just want to give these individuals the tools to remedy the situation,” he said.
Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide whether to trust the bar, Vartanian said. “I kind of think it’s an implied consent,” he said. “You know we’re scanning your licenses.”
