ACLU: Do Automatic License Plate Readers violate privacy under the 4th Amendment

xhkkffbf

This sure seems like a stretch. The general model of the fourth amendment depends upon whether there's an expectation of privacy. License plates have been around for 125 years in the US. They were invented by the state and designed to enforce the state's laws. Can someone say with a straight face that they've expected privacy?

calebio

While Carpenter v. United States (2018) somewhat changed the rules regarding the "purchase" of third-party data in the context of an investigation, it seems like the ALPRs do not violate the 4th amendment the same way that the decision in Carpenter decided. Since ALPRs are effectively fixed in a geographic place with gaps and AFAIK do have relatively low retention periods (I need to double check this), they don't offer the same "whole person movement" data that a phone would when described in Carpenter. Will be interesting to see how this goes, and I'm sure ALPR density may play a part in it, but for now I don't think it violates someone's privacy under the 4th amendment. This debate also ties heavily into one around the surveillance network created via camera networks like Ring.

StatsAreFun

Also related: Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests at Least 18 Times in Recent Years ( https://ij.org/police-have-reportedly-used-license-plate-rea... )