Hi Digital Rights Supporter,
Many of us would feel uneasy with a cop silently following everywhere we go. Yet the San Jose Police Department achieved that same invasion of privacy with its Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), so we will see them in court.
By blanketing a city with nearly five hundred ALPR cameras, San Jose has created an unblinking surveillance network that indiscriminately logs millions of records about people’s movements every month. Then they let police search these records without a warrant. ALPR systems are becoming common, and we must draw a line.
This week, EFF and the ACLU of Northern California filed suit on behalf of SIREN and CAIR California, two non-profits that serve San Jose residents who, of course, travel through the city.
"The right to privacy is one of the strongest protections that our immigrant communities have in the face of these acts of violence and terrorism from the federal government," said SIREN Executive Director Huy Tran.
This growing surveillance database grants unfair, unchecked power to scrutinize ordinary people who have a right to travel—whether to work, to a doctor, or even to a protest. We’re asking the court to declare these warrantless searches unconstitutional, and to order the defendants to end this practice.
Protect Location Privacy
You have a basic right to move freely and privately in your own neighborhood. EFF’s team of lawyers, activists, researchers, and technologists have been on a mission to protect your freedom online and off since 1990, and we’re just getting started.
Donate and become a member of EFF today. Your support helps protect crucial rights for everyone.
For your freedom online,
Jennifer Pinsof
EFF Senior Staff Attorney
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