EFF is alarmed by recent laws in several states that have blocked public access to data collected by ALPRs, including, in some cases, information derived from ALPR data. We do not support pending bills in Arizona and Connecticut that would block the public oversight capabilities that ALPR information offers.
If anyone wants to do a small bit to help: we track these on OpenStreetMap. If you see one, you can check through an editor like iD (the one built into the OSM website) to see if we document it yet, then add it if not. (If you don’t know how and can’t figure out how, you can also leave a note for someone else to find and address.)
The DeFlock website has an outstanding guide on how to add these cameras.
Can I do that from the iOS app? And which iOS app do I use?
Go Map!! is the most popular editor for iOS. Likewise, Vespucci for Android (Street Complete also exists for Android, but its functionality is intentionally very restricted to very basic tasks for beginner-friendliness).
Go Map!! supports arbitrary tag values, so there’s no reason it wouldn’t be able to map them. How easy that would be, I don’t know; I’ve never used it, as I’m on Android.
I seem to remember hearing about a town that installed cameras to
spy on citizensmonitor for crime and took them all down again when a judge enforced freedom of information legislation. That is, the public requested access to what the cameras recorded and were found to be entitled to it.It’s not true that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, but the converse is true. And dirty cops reeeally don’t like it.
Asymmetric power is where it’s at.
It’s no fun when both sides have full access to all the toys.
