The Danger of License Plate Readers in Post-Roe America

America could soon be turned against those who seek abortions or provide abortion care because of the Supreme Court's decision.

Nine states have almost completely banned abortion. Legislators in these states are discussing the possibility of preventing people from crossing state lines to get an abortion. One of the technologies that could be used to track people crossing state lines is automated license plate readers. They are also used by private actors.

ALPRs are cameras that are mounted on street poles, overpasses, and other places that can identify and capture license plate numbers on passing cars for the purpose of issuing speeding tickets and tolling. The databases of captured license plates are maintained by state and local police.

Private companies have access to license plate data collected by the police, as well as their own. Private companies and organizations that they work with have their own networks of ALPRs that are mounted to their cars. According to the company, it can capture data from over a billion vehicles a month.

There are a lot of cars that have ALPRs on them. repo firms and government agencies buy that from them. Jay Stanley is a policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. It's a giant, nationwide mass-surveillance system. It has serious implications if interstate travel becomes part of forced birth enforcement.

There were no responses to requests for comment before publication.

Stanley says that ALPRs can be found in rural areas as well as metropolitan areas. If a person is travelling out of state to get an abortion, the police will be able to identify where their license plate was scanned and when. They might be able to sketch out that person's travel habits. License plates are out in the open and can be seen by anyone, so police don't need a warrant to get this information.

Stanley says that the more dense the ALPR scans are, the more they look like gps tracking.

A police department can look for license plate data in another state through private databases or they can use a police department in that state. The data is often shared with little oversight by police departments.