EFF's Policy Position: Eliminating ALPR Surveillance and Mitigating Its Harms

• Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) create searchable maps of driver movements, acting as mass surveillance tools that should be eliminated entirely.
• EFF advocates for the total removal of ALPR infrastructure, while simultaneously urging for strict legal protections like warrant requirements and mandatory data deletion deadlines where these systems persist.
• This position addresses indiscriminate mass surveillance and does not include conventional red-light or speed cameras (ATE) that do not store networked data on uninvolved drivers.

Risks of ALPR Systems

• Despite being marketed for specific uses like finding stolen vehicles, ALPRs indiscriminately collect data on every passing driver.
• These databases are easily weaponized against marginalized communities, political dissidents, and immigrants.
• Systemic harms include wrongful arrests due to technical errors, abuse of databases by law enforcement for personal stalking, and the chilling of First Amendment rights at protests.
• Centralized personal data storage inherently creates risks regarding data theft and unauthorized access.

Multi-Front Advocacy Strategy

• Local level: Collaborating with community members to halt municipal purchases of ALPR equipment.
• Legislative level: Pushing for state-level statutes that mandate strict use restrictions and data-deletion policies.
• Legal level: Filing amicus briefs and lawsuits arguing that warrantless searches of ALPR data violate the Fourth Amendment.
  • Ongoing litigation in California against the San Jose Police Department regarding warrantless searches.
  • Legal challenges against the sharing of California driver data with federal or out-of-state agencies.
• Investigative level: Utilizing public records requests and advocacy to expose law enforcement misuse and lobbying for official state audits.