The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a damning report illustrating yet another breach of our Constitutional freedoms. The report, titled, “You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Americans’ Movements”, reveals widespread tracking of our movements via license plate readers. According to the report, tens of thousands of license plate readers are now deployed across the United States. Despite the official line that they’re used for legitimate purposes, the ACLU notes they’re typically programmed to retain the location and photograph of every vehicle they scan. This information can be shared with other law enforcement agencies, fusion centers and even private businesses. And, their use is virtually unrestricted. According to the ACLU, one police department in New York State is so bold as to claim use of such devices “is only limited by the officer’s imagination.” This is despite the fact that nearly every recorded driver is completely innocent. As an example, according to the report, just 47 of every million plates read in Maryland were potentially associated with a serious crime. That doesn’t keep many from retaining the data, though. The ACLU notes that retention policies range from immediate deletion to indefinite retention. Just like plenty of other scandals as of late, the federal government has its hand in this one. That’s because a 2012 Wall Street Journal article noted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued $50 million in grants to fund the acquisition of license plate readers over the past five years. And, Uncle Sam uses license plate readers on its own, but has largely refused to voluntarily provide information in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. However, the ACLU is currently suing to force the federal government to speak up. Here’s another fun fact: most states have no laws on the books governing the use of such readers, as notes the ACLU. Of those that do, New Hampshire has the toughest while Arkansas and Maine also provide substantive privacy protections. As you might expect, this revelation doesn’t bode well for the average citizen. According to the
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:34:08 +0000
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