Senate Hearing On ALPR (VIDEO)
Modern automatic license-plate-reader (ALPR) solutions are gathering more than license-plate numbers and have become AI-powered tools of surveillance that may compromise individuals’ privacy and possibly violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, speakers and lawmaker said today during a Senate subcommittee hearing.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), chair of the Senate subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism, said automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) technology that captures still images of license-plate numbers has long been a useful tool to law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors. However, ALPR systems from Flock Safety and other vendors are recording real-time video that can use AI to quickly search for individuals and vehicles—typically without a warrant.
Hawley expressed concern that the vast amount of video being collected by more than 120,000 Flock cameras in 49 states is stored in a cloud database that is accessible by any of the company’s users “with no meaningful curbs on it” via federal laws or regulations. The potential for improper surveillance is significant, he said.
