Ban Police ALPR Mass Surveillance in California

Ban police use of automated license plate readers in California. These camera networks have become a nationwide tracking infrastructure, and California must lead the way in shutting them down. This is not a hypothetical threat. EFF has documented law enforcement using ALPR data to track protesters, hunt immigrants, and surveil women seeking reproductive healthcare. Officers have logged search justifications as "LOL" and "LMAO." More than 99% of drivers scanned are not on any hotlist, yet their movements are recorded, stored, and searchable. That is mass surveillance of the entire driving public, not crime-fighting. Six states enacted ALPR restrictions in 2026 alone. California should go further and ban police acquisition, retention, and use of ALPR systems and data entirely. At minimum, ban storage of ALPR data beyond a few minutes, require a warrant to search any stored data, prohibit disclosure to federal agencies, and give Californians a private right of action to sue departments that break the law. This surveillance infrastructure cannot be made safe by tinkering around the edges. End it.