Editorial: Privacy victory nice, but it’s not enough

Sunday, Jan. 16, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

Primarily in response to the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, who was killed by a stalker who obtained her address through the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Congress in 1994 passed a law that severely restricted the public release of driver's license information. South Carolina challenged the law's constitutionality as a violation of states' rights, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law last week, unanimously finding that there was no abrogation of the state's sovereignty.

It was encouraging to see the Supreme Court keep these restrictions in place, but the assault continues on the privacy rights of Americans. While Congress took the right step in curtailing the release of DMV records several years ago, it is lamentable that last year it didn't pass legislation protecting the medical privacy rights of Americans. In addition, when Congress last year overhauled the laws governing the nation's financial institutions, it failed to mandate that newly affiliated companies -- especially banks and insurance companies -- must first get the consent of consumers before they swap sensitive data. The bottom line is that this nation still has a long way to go to ensure that its citizens' privacy rights are genuinely cherished and respected by government.