State Departments of Motor Vehicles are notorious for slow or bad service. They are also becoming more well known for aiding in the invasion of individuals’ privacy.

At the same time the United States and state governments have been dumping driver license photos into databases for use by police and in mass surveillance, Joseph Cox reports in a Monday Vice article that state governments have been operating side-businesses selling to companies material including names, addresses, and car registration information that drivers are required to provide. The California DMV alone, reports Cox, is bringing in over 50 million dollars in revenue each year from such sales.

Read Cox’s article here.

Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.