Judge halts all demands for CDL driver data in wake of lawsuits

A US District Court Judge has halted all demands for CDL driver data from all agencies in the wake of multiple lawsuits. 

U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga issued an order halting all involved parties from making demands for data or acting out consequences for failure to do so on Friday, August 14th, reported Bloomberg.

On August 13th, a lawsuit against the US Department of Transportation, the FMCSA, and the Department of Homeland Security was filed by 21 Attorneys General, the state of Pennsylvania. The suit alleges that the USDOT demanded access to the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS). 

The information held in the CDLIS is owned by the states and managed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators – a private, non-profit group. The CDLIS includes sensitive driver data including social security numbers and license numbers. The suit alleges that the USDOT demanded access to the information on threats to withhold federal transportation funding if the information was not provided. 

The suit also alleges that the FMCSA and DHS made similar demands for data, and the DHS even issued a subpoena for CDLIS access. 

The court order halts the AAMVA from granting access to the data to any of the defendants named in the suit. It also stops the DOT, DHS, and all other defendants from acting on any threatened consequences, including the withholding of funding. 

DOT and DHS were given until August 17th at 5 p.m. to file an opposition to the court. The states were given until noon on August 19th to issue a reply to the opposition.