Bill proposes; all LPR data not identified on a hotlist must be destroyed within 24 hours
Sacramento, CA – 14 January 2021 – California state legislature is once again waging war on License Plate Recognition Technology. On the 12th, California’s Senator Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced SB 210, the License Plate Privacy Act. This bill proposes that all LPR data not identified on a hotlist must be destroyed within 24 hours.
SB 210 is an act to amend Sections 1798.90.51, 1798.90.52, and 1798.90.53 of, and to add Section 1798.90.56 to, the Civil Code, relating to personal information.
Existing law authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to retain license plate data captured by license plate reader technology, also referred to as an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system, for not more than 60 days unless the data is being used as evidence or for the investigation of felonies.
Existing law authorizes the department to share that data with law enforcement agencies for specified purposes and requires both an ALPR operator and an ALPR end user, as those terms are defined, to implement a usage and privacy policy regarding that ALPR information, as specified. Existing law requires that the usage and privacy policy implemented by an ALPR operator or an ALPR end user include the length of time ALPR information will be retained and the process the ALPR operator and ALPR end user will utilize to determine if and when to destroy retained ALPR information.
This bill would include in those usage and privacy policies a requirement that ALPR data that does not match a hot list be destroyed within 24 hours.
While the bill’s apparent intention is to stop police from sharing the data with ICE, it’s broad definitions of “end users” and “operators” appears to expand it’s intentions to cover repossession agencies using License Plate Recognition Technology.
On his state senate page, Weiner states; “It’s troubling, to say the least, that so many California law enforcement agencies are harvesting massive amounts of ALPR data, retaining that data for no reason, and recklessly distributing it to other agencies around the country, including ICE. It’s even more disturbing that private vendors frequently have access to this personal information. ALPR data is truly the Wild West in California, and this legislation will bring much-needed privacy protections.”
Hayley Tsukayama, Legislative Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “These agencies collect far too much data, store it for far too long, and share it far too broadly with agencies that have no articulated need to access our data. Last year, the State Auditor confirmed our worst fears, finding that agencies were violating even the most basic requirements under state law. It’s time for the legislature to act on the auditor’s recommendations to protect our immigrant communities, promote racial justice, and strengthen the privacy protections guaranteed to all Californians under the state constitution”
Facebook Comments