Worried about what happens to your license information after bouncers run your ID through machines to check your age? So is Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
This week he threw his weight behind legislation that would ensure your particulars aren’t used for marketing purposes or sold to third parties.
“When somebody shows their driver’s license to get into a bar, they should be sure that this is the last transaction,” said state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who is championing the bill.
Feigenholtz, whose district encompasses Wrigleyville, said the idea for legislation came after the secretary of state’s office received complaints from people who were concerned their ID information was being misused.
“We have had a number of complaints from people who have been required to do this and then turned up on solicitation lists, things of that nature,” said Nathan Maddox, assistant counsel for the secretary of state. “And there also are, of course, concerns about identity theft.”
One Chicago club owner says that if patrons don’t want to give up their information to a bar, they can 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 to be used only to send birthday cards. He said his company, which has been scanning IDs since October 2003, doesn’t sell or give the information to third parties.
“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 ID information in any way other than proving a person’s identity or age. If information is misused, the victim could be entitled to at least $250, plus attorney fees and the cost of filing the complaint. The legislation does not cover passports.
