Law enforcement agencies are collecting travel pattern data on a massive scale using automated license plate readers.
EFF and @MuckRock filed records requests around the country to find out how much they collected and how they're sharing the data.
eff.org/pages/automate…
EFF and @MuckRock filed records requests around the country to find out how much they collected and how they're sharing the data.
eff.org/pages/automate…
The @DowneyPolice Dept. in California collected 64 million license plate scans in 2016-2017. It shares data with at least 779 other agencies. 
The @Austin_Police Dept. in Texas collected 25 million license plate scans in 2016-2017. It shares data with at least 817 other agencies.
The @RoswellGAPolice Dept. collected 1.2 million license plate scans in 2016-2017. It shares data with at least 539 other agencies.
The Buffalo Police Dept. in NY (@BPDAlerts) collected 85 million license plate scans in 2016-2017. It directly shares data with at least 137 other agencies plus a pool of 528 agencies.
The New Jersey State Police (@NJSP) collected 20 million license plate scans in 2016-2017, but they wouldn't tell us who they share the data with.
Even small towns are collecting and sharing ALPR data. Hiram, Georgia (pop. 4,000) collected 32,000 plates in 2016-2017 and shares that data with 833 other agencies, including ICE and the Honolulu Police Department.
