EFF, ACLU Win Court Ruling That Police Can't Keep License Plate Data Secret

["DAVID FARBER" <dfarber () me com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: EFF Press <press () eff org>
> Date: August 31, 2017 at 3:58:04 PM EDT
> To: dfarber () me com
> Subject: EFF, ACLU Win Court Ruling That Police Can't Keep License Plate Data Secret
> Reply-To: EFF Press <press () eff org>
>
>
>    
>
> This is a friendly message from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. View it in a web browser.
>
>  
>
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017
> Contact:
> Jennifer Lynch
> Senior Staff Attorney
> jlynch () eff org
> +1 415-436-9333 x136
>
> David Colker
> ACLU SoCal Press & Communications Strategist
> DColker () ACLUSOCAL org
> +1 213-977-5242 office
> +1 626-755-4129 cell
>
>  
>
> Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU Win Court Ruling That Police Can't Keep License Plate Data Secret
> Police Have Collected Data on Millions of Law-Abiding Drivers Via License Readers
>
> SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU won a decision by the California 
> Supreme Court that the license plate data of millions of law-abiding drivers, collected indiscriminately by police 
> across the state, are not “investigative records” that law enforcement can keep secret. 
>
> California’s highest court ruled that the collection of license plate data isn’t targeted at any particular crime, so 
> the records couldn’t be considered part of a police investigation. 
>
> “This is a big win for transparency in California,” attorney Peter Bibring, director of police practices at the ACLU 
> of Southern California, which joined EFF in a lawsuit over the records.  “The California Supreme Court recognized 
> that California’s sweeping public records exemption for police investigations doesn’t cover mass collection of data 
> by police, like the automated scanning of license plates in this case. The court also recognized that mere 
> speculation by police on the harms that might result from releasing information can’t defeat the public’s strong 
> interest in understanding how police surveillance impacts privacy."
>
> The ruling sets a precedent that mass, indiscriminate data collection by the police can’t be withheld just because 
> the information may contain some criminal data. This is important because police are increasingly using technology 
> tools to surveil and collect data on citizens, whether it’s via body cameras, facial recognition cameras, or license 
> plate readers.
>
> The panel sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether the data can be made public in a redacted or 
> anonymized form so drivers’ privacy is protected.
>
> “The court recognized the huge privacy implications of this data collection,” said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Jennifer 
> Lynch. “Location data like this, that’s collected on innocent drivers, reveals sensitive information about where they 
> have been and when, whether that’s their home, their doctor’s office, or their house of worship.”
>
> Automated License Plate Readers or ALPRs are high-speed cameras mounted on light poles and police cars that 
> continuously scan the plates of every passing car. They collect not only the license plate number but also the time, 
> date, and location of each plate scanned, along with a photograph of the vehicle and sometimes its occupants. The Los 
> Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) collect, on average, three 
> million plate scans every week and have amassed a database of half a billion records.
>
> EFF filed public records requests for a week’s worth of ALPR data from the agencies and, along with American Civil 
> Liberties Union-SoCal, sued after both agencies refused to release the records.
>
> EFF and ACLU SoCal asked the state supreme court to overturn a lower court ruling in the case that said all license 
> plate data—collected indiscriminately and without suspicion that the vehicle or driver was involved in a crime—could 
> be withheld from disclosure as “records of law enforcement investigations.”
>
> EFF and the ACLU SoCal argued the ruling was tantamount to saying all drivers in Los Angeles are under criminal 
> investigation at all times. The ruling would also have set a dangerous precedent, allowing law enforcement agencies 
> to withhold from the public all kinds of information gathered on innocent Californians merely by claiming it was 
> collected for investigative purposes.
>
> EFF and ACLU SoCal will continue fighting for transparency and privacy as the trial court considers how to provide 
> public access to the records so this highly intrusive data collection can be scrutinized and better understood.
>
>
> For this release:
> https://www.eff.org/press/releases/electronic-frontier-foundation-aclu-win-court-ruling-police-cant-keep-license-plate
>
> For the opinion:
> https://www.eff.org/document/aclu-v-la-superior-court-ca-supreme-court-opinion
>
> For more on this case:
> https://www.eff.org/cases/automated-license-plate-readers-aclu-eff-v-lapd-lasd
>  



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170831155912:D9FD2686-8E86-11E7-A204-BD1E8126972C
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com