Challenges to License Plate Readers Arise in Other U.S. States

The Minnesota State Senate is considering a bill that would heavily restrict the sharing and retention of data garnered from automatic license plate readers. In Virginia, two individuals are suing the city of Norfolk regarding its ALPR network.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Following legislative challenges in states like Minnesota, other places in the United States are pushing back on data collection from automated license plate readers.

In Norfolk, Virginia, two individuals have filed a lawsuit against the city and the Norfolk Chief of Police regarding their usage of license plate readers.

The suit claims that Norfolk’s network of 176 ALPR cameras captures and retains information to a concerning degree.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a non-profit civil rights organization, filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, agreeing with its claims.

“We believe that the long-term collection and retention of ALPR data constitutes a huge privacy concern,” said Andrea Trifoli, a staff attorney with the NCLA, “because it basically allows the government to reconstruct the daily movements of citizens, of ordinary, law-abiding citizens.”

There is an outside possibility that if the suit is successful, it could pave the way towards litigation in other cities across the country, including in Fargo-Moorhead.