Automated License Plate Reader Program Undermining Civil Liberties

As a follow up to my blog post a couple of weeks ago about privacy and license-plate readers, Pedro Rios, a community voices contributor to The San Diego Union Tribune, penned an opinion piece on how the City of Chula Vista in San Diego has been operating a powerful surveillance tool mounted on four of its vehicles, with little to no scrutiny or transparency.

The automated license plate readers, or ALPR program, capture license plate numbers; images, including of passengers; dates; times; and precise geolocations of every single vehicle in its camera range, regardless of whether or not the person in that vehicle has done anything wrong.

Information is then shared with over 800 law enforcement agencies and private associations around the country, through a database operated by Vigilant Solutions, a private corporation.

This is clearly a national issue that is affecting individual rights and civil liberties.

What are your thoughts?

Selected excerpt(s) and linked article courtesy of Pedro Rios, The San Diego Union Tribune. Photo courtesy of Unsplash (Royalty Free Photos).