CA DMV and Apple
| Tracking # |
22-00743 |
| Submitted | Feb. 11, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Aarian Marshall
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act this is a request for records on behalf of Wired magazine, a leading media outlet covering technology and society for more than 25 years. I hereby request the following records:
1. Copies of any contracts, memoranda of understanding, or any other agreements between Apple and the Department of Motor Vehicles in relation to Apple's project on supporting an electronic or digital version of a driver license on the iPhone or any other product.
2. Copies of all emails, including attachments, between Apple and the Department of Motor Vehicles between June 1, 2021, and the present date.
This request is being made for news-gathering purposes and the requested documents will be made available to the general public. Government spending on security technology is a clear matter of public interest. As such, I request a waiver from any fees that would ordinarily be assessed for fulfilling this request.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Tom Simonite
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following California Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 11, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Motor Vehicles
This request was received on February 14, 2022. A response will be sent by February 24, 2022.
Thank you.
-
~WRD000
From: Department of Motor Vehicles
Tom Simonite
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 124841
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Re: Public Records Act Request
22-00743
Dear Mr. Simonite:
The California Department of Motor Vehicles acknowledges receipt of your email on February 14, 2022, requesting records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.).
Government Code section 6253, subdivision (c), allows the Department a fourteen (14) day extension to respond to a California Public Records Act request in "unusual circumstances," as enumerated in subdivision (c). The following "unusual circumstances" apply to this matter:
* The need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request.
* The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request.
Accordingly, the Department will inform you of its decision within fourteen (14) days from the date of this communication.
Sincerely,
Michael Rand, Attorney III
Department of Motor Vehicles
Legal Affairs Division
Tel: (916) 657-6469
Fax: (916) 657-6243
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
From: Department of Motor Vehicles
Tom Simonite
Wired Magazine (MuckRock News)
DEPT MR 124841
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Re: Public Records Act Request
22-00743
Dear Mr. Simonite:
The California Department of Motor Vehicles further responds to your email received on February 14, 2022, requesting the following records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.).
1. "Copies of any contracts, memoranda of understanding, or any other agreements between Apple and the Department of Motor Vehicles in relation to Apple's project on supporting an electronic or digital version of a driver license on the iPhone or any other product."
2. "Copies of all emails, including attachments, between Apple and the Department of Motor Vehicles between June 1, 2021, and the present date."
In response to item #1, the department has identified one responsive document, a non-disclosure agreement, which is attached. The department has only engaged with Apple on an exploratory level and has not entered into any agreement with Apple to produce a digital driver license product.
In response to item #2, the Department has identified records responsive to your request. Please note that the Department has interpreted your request to mean emails, including attachments, between Apple and the Department of Motor Vehicles pertaining to digital driver licenses.
Some records and attachments have been determined to be exempt from disclosure as official information under Evidence Code section 1040, subdivision (b), as incorporated into the CPRA through Government Code section 6254, subdivision (k). In this instance, the records were acquired in confidence by public employees in the course of his or her duty and not open, or officially disclosed, to the public. These records contain descriptions of operational components of information technology systems. The Department has concluded that it is not possible to separate out meaningful portions of these documents that could be disclosed without revealing either vital details or critical information regarding the structural organization and design of these systems. Furthermore, the records contain deliberations between lawyers, program staff, and senior policy officials at DMV and lawyers and program staff at Apple tasked with potentially implementing a digital driver license program at the Department. The Department has determined the disclosure of such records would inhibit the exchange of ideas necessary to the decisionmaking process and would thereby undermine the Department's ability to perform its functions. As such, the Department has determined disclosure of the information is against the public interest because there is a necessity for preserving the confidentiality of the information that outweighs the necessity for disclosure in the interest of justice. For the same reasoning, the Department has also determined that the public interest served by withholding these records clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosing it, in accordance with Government Code section 6255. (See Times Mirror Co. v. Superior Court (1991) 53 Cal.3d 1325.) The CPRA also exempts from disclosure computer software or other information security records that would reveal vulnerabilities to, or otherwise increase the potential for an attack on, an information technology system of a public agency. (See Government Code §§ 6254.9 and 6254.19.)
As required by the California Public Records Act, the person responsible for the determination to withhold responsive records pursuant to Government Code section 6255 is Ajay Gupta, Chief Digital Transformation Officer of the Department of Motor Vehicles. (See Gov. Code § 6253, subd. (d).)
Attached are the non-exempt records responsive to your request. The Department has also identified hundreds of calendar invites/acceptances. Please let us know if you would like copies of those sent to you as well.
Sincerely,
Michael Rand, Attorney III
Department of Motor Vehicles
Legal Affairs Division
Tel: (916) 657-6469
Fax: (916) 657-6243
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
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