Just last week, we published a story about how the companies that maintain automated license plate readers — and profit from selling the data they collect — are looking to track electronic signatures directly from connected devices and even your car’s infotainment hardware with a new product called SignalTrace. And they are not stopping here.
404media published a report Tuesday detailing a plan to equip schools with automated license plate readers and turn the data over to law enforcement. The report is based on leaked documents from BusPatrol, which specializes in stop-arm cameras, which capture images of drivers illegally passing school buses (“stop-arm” is the proper name for the fold-out stop signs on school buses). The company claims to have more than 40,000 of these cameras deployed in 24 states, and at least 30 states allow them. They use AI software to automatically review images and submit them to law enforcement.
As noted ReasonStop-arm cameras have been criticized for not delivering the promised safety benefits, but they have nonetheless generated millions of dollars in revenue for the companies that deploy them. And according to reports, BusPatrol now wants to turn those cameras into license plate readers. Instead of activating when a specific law is allegedly violated, they will now reportedly be live at all times, capturing data on any vehicle within the scene of a school bus that can later be sold to law-enforcement agencies BusPatrol already counts as customers.
Civil rights advocates are already concerned that the current, unregulated use of automated license plate readers amounts to unconstitutional mass surveillance by the government. And the potential for abuse is already being demonstrated. This week, 404media Published additional reporting detailing police officers using the wildly popular camera system Flock to follow people. Taking humans probably won’t help. talking to 404media Regarding the BusPatrol plan, Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that “There is a real risk that AI will be used to create a hellish scenario of over-enforcement.”
According to the report, leaked documents show that BusPatrol is aware of the negative views of automated license plate readers and expects pushback. But an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter said 404media A new investor is pressuring the company to find alternative revenue sources, and the company is already testing with a school bus, with plans to deploy 100 license-plate-reading cameras on school buses by the end of next month.
If BusPatrol moves forward with this plan, these cameras would join an already dense surveillance network that can track people’s movements by reading signals from license plates or electronic devices. The companies selling these cameras have built a business around selling the data to law enforcement, who can use it despite the fact that it was obtained without a warrant. Because, as security expert Matt Hurwitz explained drivecast“Laws lag far behind this technology”.
