Yep, the guy's here at all the shops I've used - Walmart, Sam's Club, and Nuttall's (local, 2nd generation tire shop) scan the bar codes and affix the small, peel off labels (the same size as the one that is on the bead of the tire) that come with the tire to a card for all the registration information and tracking info (Date purchased, Mileage, Name, Address, Email, and Phone Number). They take that card and mail/scan it and forward that information to the manufacturer for warranty and safety tracking (that is what I've been told it's for). I will see if I can find an example of the card and the mailing address.
This post made me realize that we were talking about different things!
The company I used to work for and the people who I have been contacting have a third party company doing all this registration work. It is indeed an outgrowth of the Ford/Firestone thing.
What happened is the US government required tire dealers to collect enough information so an owner could be contacted in case of a recall. I am not sure how much information this third party company gets, but I know that the tire manufacturer doesn't deal with that except when there is a recall. How that works exactly - I don't know. But I do know those of us in the trenches don't use any of that information at all. In fact, I do not remember even thinking about this info - so maybe there is a government regulation making the info private?
So somebody has that information. The tire manufacturers may have agreed to allow third parties to hold that information. It's also possible that the tire manufacturers may be passing enough information so the third party can get the make/model/size/datecode for each individual barcode. But I'll bet that the tire manufacturers do this in reverse: In a recall, they make up a list of barcode numbers that are being recalled and ask the third parties (is there more than one?) for a list of names and addresses.
So there is a disconnect between the tire retailer and the tire manufacturer with regard to the barcode - except if there is a recall.