California AG Sues City Over Sharing of License Plate Data
El Cajon, a city 17 miles east of San Diego, broke the law when it shared license plate data with federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies, argued California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) in a lawsuit filed Friday.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Privacy Daily provides accurate coverage of newsworthy developments in data protection legislation, regulation, litigation, and enforcement for privacy professionals responsible for ensuring effective organizational data privacy compliance.
A 2015 California law prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with federal and out-of-state agencies, since that puts the data beyond the oversight and regulation of California.
“ALPR systems can collect and store location information that reveals where people live, where they work, where they worship, where they seek medical care, shop, travel and spend time with family and friends,” said Bonta in a press conference Friday.
“We are asking the court to declare El Cajon’s practices unlawful and to order the city and its police department to stop sharing this data unlawfully, which they are doing now,” he added. “When information leaves California, we no longer have a say over whether it will be misused, whether that's for immigration enforcement, surveillance of protesters, tracking individuals traveling here for reproductive care [or] gender-affirming care and other purposes that could fringe on constitutional rights.”
According to the AG, El Cajon has shared ALPR data with agencies in at least 23 other states. The complaint says the California DOJ reached out to the city’s police department to remind it of the state law, but it refused to comply. Bonta's office is seeking a writ of mandate to bring El Cajon into compliance.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted a blog post Wednesday about the dangers of ALPRs. “This year alone, authorities in multiple states have used license plate readers to hunt for people seeking reproductive healthcare,” said Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at EFF. “Police officers have used these systems to stalk romantic partners and monitor political activists. ICE has tapped into these networks to track down immigrants and their families for deportation.”
Bonta had the same message. “We can't allow state or local law enforcement to become tools for enforcement practices that violate Californians’ rights,” he said. “Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. It's about protecting public trust in law enforcement.”