Data.

Picture from https://pixabay.com/

[Editorial]

Who controls the data, what can they do with the data, how long can they keep the data, and can they sell the data.

The data that I’m talking about is data coming from red light cameras, toll cameras, speed cameras, and license plate reader data. A plethora of data is being collected on us and there are many questions about who controls the data and what they can do with the data.

When I drive home from Hartford my car license plate is read on the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield.

A lot of good can be learned from the cameras, but there is a great chance of abused is also there. CT Insider wrote,

Stationary license plate readers installed last year have raised police officer safety concerns that prompted a request for additional equipment after an incident in November, according to officials.

“I think the laws that we have in Connecticut around automobile criminal activity has necessitated the need for these Flock systems in many municipalities including Southington and with that I believe our police officers are encountering criminals earlier in the process,” said Town Council Chairman Paul Chaplinsky Jr.

Southington installed roadside license plate readers made by Atlanta-based Flock Safety last summer. The system alerts the police department when a stolen motor vehicle passes one of the cameras.

“In the past police officers would get phone calls from a resident, a business etc. saying that a crime was committed or being committed,” Chaplinsky said. “Now more than ever with the advent of this new technology the police officers are reporting to the scene of the crime in real time and that means they’re putting themselves at risk more and more each day. And so I do believe that it’s incumbent upon us as elected officials to ensure that we are providing the tools and training necessary to ensure that our police department is adequately equipped for these scenarios that are happening like the one in November.”

But consider this scenario #1…
A trans child’s parents takes the child out of state to proper medical treatment. The state Attorney General learns of the trans child getting treatment out of state… he subpoenas the license plate data and the toll camera data and tracks the family to the medical clinic and arrests the family for treating the child.

Scenario #2…
A woman in Texas goes to a paternity clinic out of state to try to get pregnant, a busy body across the street reports her for having an abortion for the reward. The state subpoenas the red light data in front of the clinic and arrests her for having an abortion.

Scenario #3…
A store buys a list of possible customers from a company that runs traffic camera of people who turned into the store parking lot and sends them ads for the store.

Scenario #4…
A traffic camera by trans support group meeting place records the license numbers of the cars going through that intersection. The attendance has dropped off and they can’t figure out why since the camera when up.

Scenario #5…
A wife is suing for divorce and gets the traffic camera data for five years ago to prove that the husband is having an affair.

All of these scenarios are not illegal under current law, there are no controls on what the data can be used for, if the data can be sold, and for how long data can be kept.

In China, in Russia, and it other fascist nations they use the data to control their citizens.

The cameras have great potential for good but also for abuse.

We cannot put the genie back in the bottle but we can control how the data can be used and for how long the data can be kept.

[/Editorial]

---

Updated Match 3, 2024

An article in Quartz wrote about the misuse of license plate reader data...

An AI license plate surveillance startup installed hundreds of cameras without permission

Flock installed its surveillance cameras without permits, and has now been banned from operating in two states

By Bradley Brownell

February 28, 2024

Flock, a startup which promotes a surveillance state, has installed car tracking cameras in 4,000 cities among 42 states. The company makes its money and shareholder value by delivering AI-based tracking hardware and software to local police departments, which are more than happy to pay Flock’s $3,000 annual fee. The Atlanta-based company has grown nearly 2,700 percent since 2020, and at least some of that growth, according to a new report from Forbes, has come from a willingness to bend the rules to get their cameras installed and tracking your every movement.

Flock uses fallible artificial intelligence software to “fingerprint” a car, matching its make, model, and appearance to a license plate number in the DOT database. Cops love Flock because they say it is less expensive than competitive systems from Motorola, while allegedly providing more accurate tracking of potential suspects.

Forbes’ report shows the level of law-breaking Flock is willing to commit in order to help law enforcement catch alleged criminals. According to company correspondence reviewed by Forbes, Flock has failed to obtain correct permitting for hundreds of its camera installations. Installing “devices” on state infrastructure without prior DOT approval is a crime in Florida, Illinois, and South Carolina, and the company has also run into issues with Texas and Washington over its lack of permits.

We need to put a leash on the use and storage on the data… this technology is the making of a authoritarian government.

Flock CEO Garrett Langley said at a recent event that the company’s cameras now “cover almost 70 percent of the population” and are used to solve “about 2,200 crimes a day.” Just one Flock contract, Riverside County, California’s, consists of a network of 309 cameras scanning 27.5 million cars per month.

Shades of “A Brave New World” and “1984” and totalitarian control and societal manipulation!