Lawmakers seek safeguards on license plate readers
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Two bills are being drafted that would establish new safeguards for the use of automated surveillance technologies in the commonwealth.
Reps. David H. Rowe, R-Middleburg, and Josh Bashline, R-Clarion, have begun circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for tandem pieces of legislation the two lawmakers are drafting. Rowe's bill would create clear statewide standards governing how automated surveillance technologies are used, including limitations on the collection and retention of personally identifiable information and requirements for judicial oversight in certain circumstances. Bashline's bill would authorize municipalities to determine whether automated license plate readers may be installed within their communities.
Without clear safeguards, these technologies can compile detailed records of the movements of law-abiding citizens who are not suspected of any wrongdoing.
“These tools can serve legitimate law enforcement purposes, but Pennsylvanians should not have to choose between public safety and their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable government surveillance,” Rowe said. “We can--and should--protect both. I believe these bills strike that balance by protecting Pennsylvanians' privacy while ensuring that police have access to critical information in dire situations."
Rowe said advances in surveillance technology have made it possible to collect, store, and analyze information about individuals on a scale that was unimaginable just a generation ago. While those capabilities can aid criminal investigations, he said they also underscore the need to ensure technological innovation does not outpace the constitutional protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
“Communities across Pennsylvania have different needs and different perspectives when it comes to the use of surveillance technology,” Bashline said. “Local elected officials should have the authority to determine whether automated license plate readers are the right fit for their communities. This legislation gives municipalities a voice while preserving the ability of law enforcement to utilize these tools where they have local support.”
Bashline and Rowe said formal legislation is expected to be introduced soon.
In June, a coalition of civil rights groups asked a state judge to order Westchester County, one of New York's largest suburban counties, to stop its deployment of nearly 600 license plate readers, calling it a warrantless and "indiscriminate surveillance system" that violates the state constitution. The class action lawsuit also alleged that Westchester County never got proper authorization to launch the program, which has amassed a database of 1.6 billion plate scans that has been shared with more than 50 outside law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The complaint said the network "records the long-term travel patterns, daily habits, and intimate information of millions of law-abiding New Yorkers and other motorists who travel through Westchester."
"In a democracy, a police department cannot unilaterally decide -- without legislative authorization -- to surveil the daily movements of its own citizens without any real accountability, transparency, or oversight," said Barry Friedman, founder and faculty director of the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, which brought the suit on behalf of four motorists, in an interview with the Associated Press. "This indiscriminate data surveillance must not be allowed to continue in the dark."
The widespread use of license plate reader systems, which utilize a system of cameras to scan and record motorists' license plate information, has generated controversy. The Associated Press in November reported that the U.S. Border Patrol was running a secretive license plate reader program that singled drivers out over their travel patterns, prompting a complaint from congressional Democrats that the program may be unlawful.
A license plate reader company, Flock Safety, said last year it was pausing work with the Department of Homeland Security after it was revealed that police departments across the country were sharing license plate reader data with immigration authorities. Other cities and states are restricting data sharing with federal authorities, reducing how long they keep license plate reader data or even canceling contracts in response to residents' complaints.
The use of license plate readers has broadly been upheld by most courts because they document the movement of cars on public roadways. The Westchester litigation is part of a broader legal effort seeking to have courts reconsider such legal doctrines amid the proliferation of surveillance technologies, data collection and analysis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.