A U.S. District Court judge has suspended all requests for data on drivers with commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) by all agencies in the wake of several lawsuits.
U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga issued an order on Friday, August 14, preventing all parties involved from requesting data or imposing penalties for failure to comply with this requirement, according to Bloomberg.
On August 13, 21 state attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the FMCSA, and the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit alleges that the USDOT demanded access to the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS).
The information contained in the CDLIS is owned by the states and managed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a private nonprofit organization. The CDLIS includes sensitive driver data, such as Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. The lawsuit alleges that the USDOT demanded access to this information by threatening to withhold federal transportation funds if the information was not provided.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made similar demands regarding the data, and that DHS even issued a subpoena to gain access to the CDLIS.
The court order prevents AAMVA from granting access to the data to any of the defendants named in the lawsuit. It also prevents the DOT, DHS, and all other defendants from carrying out any of the consequences they had threatened, including the withholding of funds.
The DOT and DHS were given until 5:00 p.m. on August 17 to file a motion to dismiss with the court. The states were given until noon on August 19 to file a reply to that motion.
