New Jersey law says toll records cannot be released to any person or governmental agency unless they have a subpoena or court order. E-ZPass terms and conditions declare that "account information will not be disclosed to third parties without [customer] consent except as required or permitted by law."

Despite those protections, Lautenberg's records became fodder in Christie's attempts to diminish the senator. At the 2012 press conference, Christie cited E-ZPass records to question whether the senator spent enough time attending to his state's business.

“What was he doing going through the tunnel or over the bridge 284 times for free in '05 and '06?” Christie asked. “Was he ever in Washington? And when he wasn't in Washington what was he doing in New York? Did he ever spend any time in New Jersey?” Citing the travel records, Christie called Lautenberg "an embarrassment to the state."

Experts tell IBTimes that the disclosure of E-ZPass records appears to have violated state law protecting the privacy of drivers and also raises serious questions about the degree to which government agencies can keep tabs on the comings and goings of citizens.

“This is the kind of thing that reminds everyone why privacy is important: Information is power and always raises the temptation for abuse,” said Jay Stanley, a privacy expert at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Any kind of data that reveals our locations and travels is potentially very powerful stuff that lends itself to abuse for Nixonian dirty tricks, embarrassment of rivals or leverage over critics. If officials feel comfortable using information against a prominent person like Frank Lautenberg, what is the ordinary person supposed to think about how data could be used against them?”

The apparent use of private traffic data as a tool in New Jersey's political jockeying underscores concerns about whether such information is being used in less public ways by government officials who have access to the data. Such concerns are particularly acute in an era in which technology has made transit and communications histories easily searchable to those with access to the pertinent data.