MessageFlock automated license plate reader networks create a serious constitutional privacy problem by continuously photograph…

Flock automated license plate reader networks create a serious constitutional privacy problem by continuously photographing vehicles, recording their locations and times, identifying distinctive characteristics such as bumper stickers and accessories, and storing and sharing that information so individual vehicles can be tracked over time. A Kansas lawsuit against Wichita challenges this surveillance under the Kansas Constitution's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, particularly because drivers are legally required to display license plates that can readily be connected to their identities. Flock's work for government agencies, placement of cameras on public property and government vehicles, and extensive law-enforcement use can make its surveillance functionally governmental rather than purely private. Traditional searches generally target particular people suspected of wrongdoing, while this technology enables government to accumulate location histories on virtually everyone without individualized suspicion, effectively transforming legally mandated license plates into persistent tracking identifiers. The constitutional issue extends beyond a camera observing something visible in public to the automated collection, analysis, retention, and aggregation of millions of observations into searchable records of people's movements. Technology has therefore transformed what once might have been an isolated observation of a license plate into the capacity for continuous mass surveillance, raising fundamental questions about whether government can maintain records of where ordinary citizens travel without warrants, probable cause, or suspicion of a crime. https://www.aei.org/technology-and-innovation/flock-camera-systems-may-face-a-constitutional-reckoning