this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
231 points (99.6% liked)

privacy

2976 readers
1 users here now

Big tech and governments are monitoring and recording your eating activities. c/Privacy provides tips and tricks to protect your privacy against global surveillance.

Partners:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The EFF and ACLU letter lists 35 specific police agencies which either have informed the civil liberties organizations that they plan to keep sharing ALPR information with out-of-state law enforcement, or have failed to confirm their compliance with the law in response to inquiries by the organizations.

“We urge your office to explore all potential avenues to ensure that state and local law enforcement agencies immediately comply,” the letter said. “We are deeply concerned that the information could be shared with agencies that do not respect California’s commitment to civil rights and liberties and are not covered by California’s privacy protections.”

top 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old

If there's a state law that local police aren't adhering to, there's only one course of action.

Clear the local police station with state police until replacements who can follow their own laws are found and properly trained.

The ones who refused to follow the law are subject to the full penalties of failing to do so.

In other words: STOP FUCKING TREATING THEM WITH KID GLOVES AND START TREATING THEM LIKE YOU WOULD ANYONE ELSE

[–] aelwero@lemmy.world 24 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Totally fine for California to have all that data though...

I don't think the sharing part is really the issue here.

[–] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, fuck that. The day I learn my car is being tracked is the day I start covering my license plate.

[–] Godwins_Law@lemmy.ca 24 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You're going to need a time machine then.

[–] Spiralvortexisalie@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

Lol credit agencies have been selling this service for years to Repomen and PIs amongst other groups who buy and sell this data regularly. One commercially available option from TransUnion: https://www.tlo.com/vehicle-sightings

[–] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

I'll make sure to reach 88mph while the fuzz is chasing me.

[–] HeapOfDogs@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 months ago

I don't live in an area with street cameras or even regular police patrols. There's obviously record of me owning the car but I'd be surprised if there's any footage anywhere of me driving it other than the private CCTV of different local fuel stations and I never go to the one closest to my house since I've been told the fuel there is of lower quality.

[–] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

They're both issues.

ALPR Databases

Most of this ALPR data is stored in databases for extended periods of time—often as long as five years. The databases may be maintained by the police departments, but often they are maintained by private companies such as Vigilant Solutions or Flock Safety. Law enforcement agencies without their own ALPR systems can access data collected by other law enforcement agencies through regional sharing systems and networks operated by these private companies. Several companies operate independent, non-law enforcement ALPR databases, contracting with drivers to put cameras on private vehicles to collect the information. These data are then sold to companies like insurers, but law enforcement can also purchase access to this commercial data on a subscription basis.

https://sls.eff.org/technologies/automated-license-plate-readers-alprs

The government does not own the database, nor is this a California wide thing. This is local police departments being permitted to use private companies to maintain databases of citizen activity, and those private companies have developed a robust system to share that information.

Remembering of course that these cameras are mounted on public infrastructure. People are paying taxes, and that tax money is being used to buy, mount, and maintain these camera systems, but the actual data is not in a database the government of California (and by extension the citizens of California) has direct control over.

It would actually be better if the state of California had its own database because it would be more scrutinized than these random private databases that cops are allowed to put together and host on some private companies server.

[–] spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 18 points 9 months ago
[–] MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

It is the people that work there that is doing the sharing not some agency doing it.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 2 points 9 months ago

The people who work at an agency are the agency.