OFFICIAL DAILY ACTION FOR Tuesday, February 17th!!
Protect Driver Privacy!
From our friends at the ACLU: Sign in “CON” for the current text of SB 6002, Driver Privacy. The bill has been changed to weaken protections on drivers. It is up for public comment on the 18th in the Civil Rights and Judiciary committee.
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) are a form of Surveillance that threatens the safety of Washington residents. The Driver Privacy Bill was intended for harm reduction, but instead created loopholes that can be exploited and allow invasive location tracking of vulnerable groups.
The substitute version of the bill that passed out of the Senate endangers the safety of all Washington residents, but especially vulnerable populations. The ACLU opposes the bill in its current form and are advocating for legislators to strengthen the bill to protect vulnerable community members and ensure the safety and Constitutional rights of all Washingtonians.
Click over to https://email.wethepeoplepower.org/tf/c/eyJ2Ijoie1wiYVwiOjI3MjcxOSxcImxcIjoxNzk1NzQ3MzQ1NTQ0MDAwOTAsXCJyXCI6MTc5NTc0NzQ3MDY4MTA1ODkxfSIsInMiOiIxYzE1MmVhYTM4MGEzZTEzIn0 to share your thoughts. ACLU suggests using 2 to 4 talking points:
1. Amend the bill to a 3 minute retention period for all uses – unless it is on a hot list.
New Hampshire has a state law that limits ALPR data retention to 3 minutes unless it is on a hot list. Law enforcement in New Hampshire are able to conduct investigations.
According to the Brennan Center, only 1% to 0.2% of ALPR captured license plates are either on a hot list or associated with any crime. Link to the article, here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-license-plate-readers-legal-status-and-policy-recommendations
Washington Association of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs (WASPC) recently published a list of cases solved with ALPR – the majority of crimes solved from WASPC’s own list are hot listed plates.
The current Federal administration has been using surveillance tools like automatic license place readers (ALPR) to abduct residents and disappear people to black sites without any legal representation or due process; give cover for red states to attack people seeking reproductive and/or gender-affirming care; and surveilling and tracking those whose political views run counter to the federal administration.
2. Amend the bill to remove the Public Records Exemption while keeping the exemption for personal identifying information.
A public records exemption removes transparency. The public only knows about that ICE accessing ALPR data – including illegally accessing in sanctuary states – through public records request.
3. Amend the bill to eliminate direct vendor access.
Companies like Flock and Axon have profit-driven motives and are incentivized not to address the fourth amendment violations that their products facilitate. Direct vendor access creates a giant loophole that will be exploited to terrorize immigrant communities, pursue those seeking protected healthcare, and violate fourth amendment and free speech rights.
4. Amend the bill to include a “knowingly” standard.
Limiting the evidentiary inadmissibility standard to knowing violations creates a loophole where agencies can avoid accountability simply by claiming they did not know.
5. Amend the bill to exclude all education institutions from being surveilled.
The Senate version of the bill broadened the scope of ALPR surveillance to higher education. This puts both our immigrant communities and those exercising their free speech rights at risk.
During the “No Kings” protests in June and October of this year law enforcement agencies across the country, including Spokane Washington, used ALPR to conduct warrantless searches of protestors.
The federal administration and FBI with the assistance of local law enforcement informants have used surveillance systems and ALPR to track protestors whose political views they disagree with.
College campuses have long been the center of political speech. Education institutions like healthcare facilities and other sensitive locations should be free of surveillance.
Resources
ACLU’s whitepaper, “YOU ARE BEING TRACKED: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Americans’ Movements:
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