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ICE Is About To Start Tracking License Plates Across the US
Presto Vivace shares a report from The Verge: The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has officially gained agency-wide access to a nationwide license plate recognition database, according to a contract finalized earlier this month. The system gives the agency access to billions of license plate records and new powers of real-time location tracking, raising significant concerns from civil libertarians. The source of the data is not named in the contract, but an ICE representative said the data came from Vigilant Solutions, the leading network for license plate recognition data. While it collects few photos itself, Vigilant Solutions has amassed a database of more than 2 billion license plate photos by ingesting data from partners like vehicle repossession agencies and other private groups. ICE agents would be able to query that database in two ways. A historical search would turn up every place a given license plate has been spotted in the last five years, a detailed record of the target's movements. That data could be used to find a given subject's residence or even identify associates if a given car is regularly spotted in a specific parking lot.
Presto Vivace adds, "This will not end well."
I wanted a new license plate anyway.
I guess I won't be the only one.
Foolish public, you don't think this isn't already being done by some other government agency.
What about all the fake temp plates? In Texas we are having a major problem with them, some one just buys a bunch of temp plays and that is not going to track to any one. So again great idea, but would only work if every ones plays by the rules, but if every one plays by the rules we would not need this.
I ride my bike and garage my car most of the time you insensitive clod.
Can't wait till get have to have our papers on us every time we travel. Maybe we can give arm bands to identify those we are supposed to be scared of?
You track my every financial transaction to protect me from unfair something something. You want to give the whole Internet an anal exam to protect me from Russian propaganda. But let ICE try to enforce immigration laws and it's "oh noes!11 they're spying on me."
Selective outrage. Nothing more.
What that really means is that license plates have been tracked for several decades and they decided to do some centralization upgrades and to make it official. That also means license plate databases have been used for several decades and at some point it became painful to use it the court of law, since some judges may decide that such tracking is not "appropriate".
We have a specific Right of Privacy in this state.
You can't even put a GPS locator on a car without a specific INDIVIDUAL court order by a JUDGE here.
This is a clear violation.
Expect to be sued - successfully - by our State Attorney General.
He's 22 for 22 so far.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Obligatory xkcd
https://xkcd.com/1105/
ICE agents just pulled my car over and seized my license plate. Apparently it didn't pass inspection. It's in the mail back to Canada now.
Yeah but bear in mind nobody really cares if you go to those places... your local politician however....
That's what some of (not all*) of our law enforcement in this country is turning into, and I in part** blame Trump for this. Haivng the Pussy-grabber-in-chief sitting in the Whitehouse has brought some of the worst kinds of people out of the shadows, emboldened them.
* I am not going to claim that all police are jackbooted thugs; some genuinely believe in law-and-order, and want to help people.
** I'm also not going to lay 100% of the blame on Trump; many of his predecessors have contributed to this problem and/or set the stage for things that are manifesting now. Trump however appears to be the catalyst in many cases.
Anonymous Stallman?
for now...
The interesting thing about this news is the datasource is not the State Registrations as one might expect. ICE is using "private" scans most likely because a significant number of state laws prevent them "fishing" and require probable cause for access. I bet much of those "private" DBs are from toll authorities, AFAIK all of which have enabling legislation. Watch for new laws restricting toll authorities, much like public outcry clamped down of State Registration searches.
I know in California the plate goes with car, so if you sell your car and buy a new one, you will have a new plate number that is not in the database. I don't know if that works for other states, but probably most of them are like this. So if you can afford it, buy a new car every year. If you buy a used car you at least reset the tracking done on you buy perhaps inherit some stale data of the previous owner. Which might be good if you find the idea of SWAT and ICE busting into your home to be thrilling.
Another thought is rent a car or only use ride sharing apps. Also bicycles aren't plated in the US, at least not with ids that can be easily spotted by these camera systems. Electric-assist bicycle today can go 30mph+ without pedalling if you illegally unlock their simple limiters.
Most complete solution would be not to elect fuckwits who think spying on every American citizen is acceptable. Our legislature controls the purse strings of these departments, as well as the general rules that regulate businesses collecting and selling this information. They have the power to fix this, but choose a pay off instead. I guess because businesses are people too, and every dollar you contribute is worth a vote.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
For example, make it visible/readable from car-level only, so that cops can see it, but block out cameras on poles above and from the sides? For instance, a deep louver system would probably do the trick. Or perhaps some of those wild stickers to at least fool computer vision like was reported on a story here a couple of weeks back, so that this couldn't be automated?
It seems high time for someone to start working on devices to do this, if it's not already illegal to install one.
Trump's always to blame for anything and everything, right? I see your conditioning by the media has worked flawlessly.
So in other words, you're an asshole.
How can an internal combustion engine track license plates?
#DeleteFacebook
I blame Trump for everything Trump does.
#DeleteFacebook
No, deporting people and breaking up families is pathetic. Is that the best solution your tiny little brain can come up with?
I spent an uncomfortable day in court, because a seller had placed a license plate on a truck that did not belong to it, and I did not remove it prior to driving it home post purchase. I was 16. I was stopped by an officer, and given tickets for a 'stolen license plate, stolen license tags,' and hilariously, a fine for the 'stolen' registrations being expired. I was also given a ticket for failing to have registered the vehicle and providing insurance.
During court, the judge determined that yes, I was guilty of the driving a vehicle under the above conditions. However, the judge determined that the law allows one to drive a vehicle home post purchase, and this conflicts with the requirement of having posted registration information.
The critical error on my part, had been to leave the old markings on the vehicle. Therefore, I was fined $1 for each transgression. These did not add 'points' to my license.
I do not suggest putting any false information on your vehicle, to further the parent's message.
Seriously, what value does ICE tracking LP give America's ability to secure itself? Absolutely NONE.
I do not mind giving SOME help to LEOs by POTENTIALLY hurting our rights, but only when it is about national security.
This is not. There is little to nothing in this that helps national security.
This should absolutely not be allowed.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
No, deporting people and breaking up families is pathetic. Is that the best solution your tiny little brain can come up with?
By that logic we couldn't put anyone in jail for any crime, as that would break up families too.
Who broke up the family? It wasn't the law enforcers, it was the family member that broke the law. The law is clear, if you break the law then you will be detained. This is not a secret, they knew this possibility beforehand. If these people don't want to see their family broke up then DO NOT BREAK THE LAW!
In the case of deportation the solution of keeping the family together is far simpler, they can all go together. If a family member is a US citizen, such as a child of immigrants born here or an illegal alien marrying a citizen, then they are free to leave the country too. If for some reason the nation that the immigrant is from will not allow the family to enter then I'd suggest finding a different nation to immigrate to. They don't have to go home, but they can't stay here.
Is "think of the children" all your little brain can come up with?
We can think of the children and deport those that immigrated illegally. If the parent is so irresponsible and careless of their child's future to come to the USA illegally then it may be best for the child to be removed from the parent. Put the child up for adoption. Living in constant fear of deportation, evading the law to get employment, and generally living every day as a criminal is not setting this child up for success. Again, the parent put the child in this situation, it's not the fault of the government if enforcement of the law breaks up the family.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
How long will such tracking continue before people decide to rip off their license plates in mass numbers? The government can only track license plates if they exist.
People will make the claim that we need license plates, licenses to drive, and so on, so that if someone runs over some kid on a bicycle then we can track them down and have them arrested. Well, this is the price you pay for those tiny fractions of crimes that might go unsolved, you have a government that can track you everywhere you go, every dollar you spend, and every breath you take. The government claims these license plates are for our safety, that if we didn't have them then unsafe drivers could not be removed from the road.
Make up your minds. Do you want freedom or safety? You can't have both.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.